24 Mar 2025

Patrick’s Marathon in memory of his Dad

First time marathon runner Patrick Hobbs has chosen to take part in the 2025 London Marathon in memory of his dad Mark Hobbs, who passed away in December 2024.   

Retired IT consultant Mark started to feel more tired than normal in October 2023, but the fit and active 63-year-old, who lived near Malmesbury in Wiltshire with his wife, had no idea he was experiencing the symptoms of blood cancer.  

“My father was an extremely fit person, said Patrick, 32, who lives in Swindon and works in sales. “He was an enthusiastic and talented table tennis player and part of the Cirencester and Swindon Leagues, training the juniors and playing in matches. Mum and Dad had a big garden so they were always outside and active.  

“But he started to find he’d need a rest after usual everyday tasks, and that he was a bit breathless. Dad would have gone to the doctors if he felt something was wrong, but it really wasn’t noticeable or bad enough.  

“When Dad’s energy levels didn’t pick up, he booked a blood test thinking it was low iron, or adjustment was needed to his thyroxin prescription as had previously been the case. The test was on a Friday morning. They were phoned by the lab on the Saturday morning and told to see an out of hours doctor that day. That GP referred him to Great Western Hospital in Swindon for further blood tests that same afternoon and in November 2023 he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).  

“Having my dad work out how to ‘group’ call my brother Duncan and I on WhatsApp meant we knew it couldn’t be good news. He gave us the diagnosis over the phone and I remember just feeling numb. Having worked in the medical insurance profession previously, I’d come across the condition and knew it was not a cancer that had great survival odds. The doctors said that it was lucky it had been picked up so quickly following the blood tests as if he’d left it much longer the leukaemia could have killed him within months.”  

Further genetic tests were done and four weeks after diagnosis Mark was admitted to Great Western Hospital’s Dove Ward for treatment to begin. He was given a combination of drugs to try and kill off the cancer.  

“Dove Ward was amazing; they kept him entertained and were so kind to us when we visited. The initial chemo seemed to do a decent job of killing the cancer. He had sickness and an upset stomach but these were expected. Between my mum, myself and my brother we visited him most days to offer support, distraction and to check everything was going as well as it could. Inevitably this was hardest for my mum who was now living alone.  

“Unfortunately, after initial progress, the leukaemia came back quickly and after consultation with both the local team and a consultant in Oxford, my parents decided to go for a second round of chemotherapy to prepare for a stem cell transplant.  

Sadly, Mark’s leukaemia refused to go into remission long enough for the stem cell transplant. He came home in August for palliative care and was well enough in September to celebrate Patrick’s wedding to Lauren. He was also at home to enjoy the arrival of a new puppy that kept Mark and his wife distracted and happy from day one. But by November his temperature was unstable again, and Mark was succumbing to infections.   

“He went back into hospital and they put him on intravenous antibiotics but this was clearly the beginning of the end. My parents were very practical people and they knew what was happening and Dad just wanted to go home. Dorothy House Hospice brought out a hospital bed and again gave us amazing support so we could care for him, as did the Malmesbury district nurse team and the Malmesbury Pharmacy. These things really made a difference to my family and we will be forever grateful.”  

Mark died at home on 9th December 2024.   

“I felt so helpless during that year of his leukaemia. I couldn’t give blood or stem cells as I wasn’t a match. I just wanted to be able to do something to help him and also others going through what we did. So, I signed up for the 2025 London Marathon and to support Leukaemia UK.  

“In my early 20s I trained as a bodybuilder and currently mix that in with more Crossfit-style training. I’m fit but I never wanted or planned to run a marathon and I don’t think I will be doing a second one! But it feels like the right thing to do in memory of Dad.”