for dad
I dedicated my Indian Ocean row to the memory of my Dad, Derek Outen. He died very suddenly and unexpectedly in 2006 having suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for nearly 20 years. He was diagnosed when I was just a wee toddler. It is a horrible, devastating disease and affects folk of all ages, from the tinies to the oldies, in various manifestations. It is a painful and debilitating disease of the immune system and while ‘it may not kill you, it can take your life’. He said that the only thing that varied was the intensity of the pain – it was always there. Often it would knock him flat out for days on end. It cut short his career in the Royal Air Force, and it really did take away his life in many ways. Anyone that has seen a relative suffering chronic pain and illness, knows the draining, sickening, gut wrenching feeling of seeing someone they love degenerating and weakened by a seemingly unstoppable force.
But Dad was an unstoppable force, too, in his own right. He was courageous, determined and stubborn in his fight to keep going through the trials and setbacks of operations and illness. Without doubt, he has been and will remain, one of the greatest inspirations in my life. When days were tough out on the ocean, the memory of his courage and spirited fight kept me going and got me to the other side.
My Indian Ocean row raised £30,000 for charities working to represent and support people with arthritis.
