A Co Derry man is gearing up for one of the biggest challenges of his life later this year when he climbs five mountains for a cause very dear to his heart.
Mark Quinn, 35, from Faughanvale is taking on the epic hikes in memory of his late father, Paul Quinn, and to raise money for brain tumour charity, Brainwaves NI.
Paul was only 38-years-old when he was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. The dad-of-three passed away in 2009, aged just 46 leaving behind his wife Gabrielle and their sons Mark, Michael and Oisin.
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Paul would have turned 60 this year so in his memory, Mark is climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, north and south, over five consecutive days this May. These include Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Carrauntoohil and Slieve Donard.
Mark, a physiotherapist who now lives in Carryduff, told Belfast Live: "My dad would have celebrated his 60th birthday just a few weeks ago on January 26 but sadly he passed away on October 17, 2009 aged 46.
"He worked as a chartered quantity surveyor and was a great family man. Dad enjoyed golf, kept greyhounds for many years and played lots of sport growing up.
"Dad had been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour in May 2001 aged 38. I remember the day he took ill as I was in first year at secondary school at the time while my two younger brothers were in primary school.
"My auntie arrived home that day and told us that dad had taken unwell at work and was in hospital. Initially it was thought that he'd suffered a stroke after he lost the power in one half of his body but after further tests, the doctors discovered that it was a brain tumour.
"Even at that young age, I knew it wasn't good news and something that we as a family wouldn't easily get over and would come to define the rest of our lives in a way."
Mark added: "At the start, Dad was given a life expectancy of two to three years if he was lucky but he ended up living for another eight years, which was completely testament to his own will to survive and push on.
"It was always a case of peaks and troughs as dad had numerous surgeries and bouts of radiotherapy and chemotherapy as new treatments became available.
"He always tried to prolong his life a bit more and had a pretty good quality of life for a few years, which allowed us to do many of the normal things as a family.
"Towards the end, things were a lot more challenging but he was always able to be looked after at home and be surrounded by family.
"Our mum has always been the rock that held us all together but we were also very lucky to have a large family support network and plenty of relatives living nearby to help out and offer support whenever needed."
Mark is now raising money for Brainwaves N.I. because in his words "no family should lose a loved one too soon".
"Brainwaves NI helped our family by connecting us with others in a similar situation, hosting support meetings, which my mum attended and we collectively attended days out with other families in the same situation," he explained.
"This challenge has been in the pipeline for a while and one day a few years ago when I was walking up Slieve Donard the seed was planted in terms of completing the five mountains but I've been planning it logistically over the past few months."
Added to this, Mark will be completing over 30 hours of travel time, including two boat journeys and 1,300 miles of driving between Wednesday, May 3 and Sunday, 7.
"Given my day job, physically I should be ok for this challenge and know how to prepare myself. At the moment, I'm trying to do a hike up a local mountain every weekend and get the steps in by walking and hitting the gym as much as possible," he added.
"My two brothers are hoping to join me on the Irish leg of my journey. My mum and a few other family members and friends are planning on joining us for the final mountain - Slieve Donard, which we'll be completing on the Sunday at 12 noon and there's an open invitation if anyone else wants to join us too."
You can donate to Mark's fundraiser here.
READ MORE:
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