Paula Radcliffe opens up about her father’s death and her daughter’s cancer diagnosis after a year of nightmare | UK News

As soon as the question is asked, the tears begin to flow because they are still so raw.

For Paula Radcliffe, the death of her father Peter at the start of the lockout last year and her 13-year-old daughter Isla who was diagnosed with rare cancer shortly thereafter made the past 12 months the most difficult of his life.

She said: “It was really tough preceded by the loss of my father in April 2020, not to COVID at all, but it complicated things.

“He actually had congested heart failure but was treated like a COVID patient and it took them a long time to figure out that was not it.

“So when he apparently recovered and his lungs were okay, they took him off the ventilator and his heart couldn’t cope.”

She added: “My dad would have been this pillar of support helping me through everything with Isla. I’m trying to see the positives, he didn’t suffer too much, we were able to support my mom and all the advice. my dad is here anyway, he taught me that.

“By teaching me to stand on my own feet and make the right decisions, it means when I need my dad’s help, which we all need, it’s there. When I think deeply enough, I know what he advises.

“We raised a little glass to celebrate Isla’s clarity and part of it was for my dad because I know he still fights for us.”

As Isla’s diagnosis rocked the family (her husband Gary Lough often works away from home training Mo Farah), Paula, who is Britain’s greatest marathon runner of all time, says she ‘she could rely on her mental toughness to get through the cancer process.

“To be honest my background in the sport has helped me – my dad always taught me ‘have a plan, stick to it’, so here we had a plan and we stuck to it, the whole family. found it easier to do it, ”Radcliffe said. .

“When I found it difficult, it was when the goal posts moved …