Peter Whiteside Testimonial Fund
Donation protected
15 April 20120
Linda contacted me by phone last night to pass on the terrible news that Peter passed away at 1808 hours on Tue 14 April 2020.
He had been back and forth to hospital during the past weeks and she reported on Facebook that he had tested positive for Covid 19.
Linda was able to see Peter at the end and, as ever, she was as brave and steadfast as she has been throughout Peter's struggle.
Peter was a man who influenced so many of us who knew him, a great athlete and passionate coach with tremendous vitality and spirit. When the current restrictions allow, I hope we will all have the chance to pay our respects and celebrate this remarkable person.
Rest in Peace, Peter.
Dominic
Great news!
Peter has recovered sufficiently and is now fit enough to fly back to the UK on an easyJet flight under the medical supervision of his surgeon, Dr Spyrou. He arrives on the 10th of December and Linda has found a place for him at Eagle Wood House, a private specialist neurologist centre in Peterborough.
The financial assistance provided by everyone who has so generously contributed has helped Linda and the medical team to get Peter in shape to travel. He was only 45kg back in April and today he is a (relatively) whopping 61kg! This photo was taken whilst I was out in Cyprus this last weekend and he looks so much better than when I saw him in the Spring.
Of course, our assistance doesn’t stop here and whilst Linda is busy writing the next chapter of the story, we can greatly alleviate the turmoil of moving their lives back to the UK through donating to this fund for Peter.
I have raised the target today to 12k as any additional funds will help with the logistics of flying Peter back and getting him settled into the specialist centre in the UK. Please contribute if you feel you can and share this news with those who you feel might be willing to help by donating to Peter’s fund. Simply click on the 'Donate now' button.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support our efforts to give him the best chance of recovery back in the UK
Many people in the pentathlon world will know Peter Whiteside as a top-class athlete whose long career included competing for Great Britain at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Peter was the 1985 British Modern Pentathlon champion and winner of multiple national team titles. Originally in the RAF, Peter transferred to the army and served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).
On retirement from the army Peter became a fencing coach supporting the development of the next generation of young athletes. He coached at Reading fencing club and elsewhere, and acted as director of fencing at numerous modern pentathlon competitions including the 2001 world championships and several world cups.
In 2007 Peter and wife Linda moved to Cyprus where they continued to live a happy and active life with Peter competing in Triathlons into his 60s.
In 2008 Peter was diagnosed with a brain tumour and with typical fighting spirit he made a rapid and successful recovery from the operation to have it removed. Unfortunately, in 2016 a further diagnosis showed a tumour on the brain stem and a second operation was necessary. Peter spent more than a year in hospital and for the past year has required 24 hours a day medical and nursing support. He is confined to a wheelchair, has double vision, requires gastro-intestinal feeding and whilst highly communicative and very much Peter, struggles to make himself understood.
This unexpected and catastrophic change in circumstances has had major consequences for Peter and Linda. This has included the liquidation of their assets in the UK to pay for medical treatment in Cyprus and, of course, ongoing medical and care expenses. Linda, who is amazingly positive and philosophical about the situation, is actively exploring options for bringing Peter back to the UK, however, current medical opinion is that it is not safe for him to travel until he puts on weight and he is some way off doing so.
Peter is Pentathlon family and this page is to raise funds to assist Linda with immediate support whilst she works on the right long term care for Peter. By way of illustration:
£500 would pay for a one on one carer for one month
£200 will pay for overnight nursing support for a week
£30 will pay for a specialist physiotherapy or day care session
Thank you for taking the time to read this far.
If you want to directly help Peter, please click the ‘Donate Now’ button below and contribute anything you can. Please also alert anyone else who you feel would be willing to support him.
Any donations will be so gratefully received and appreciated, and you can help Linda to write the best possible next chapter to this story.
Finally, we are looking to recognise Peter for his long service to Modern Pentathlon at an informal ‘testimonial dinner’ in his honour on the evening of the 9th June 2018 at Ravello in Bradford upon Avon (https://www.ravelloonavon.co.uk/gallery/) following the national modern pentathlon championships at the University of Bath. We hope that you will consider coming, perhaps after participating or spectating at the championships. We will look to run an ‘auction of promises’ to contribute to his testimonial fund and to celebrate his long career with anecdotes and stories from teammates and friends. If you would like to come, please let us know by emailing SupportPeter@proto-col.com
As Peter would say - "Never Quit!"
Linda contacted me by phone last night to pass on the terrible news that Peter passed away at 1808 hours on Tue 14 April 2020.
He had been back and forth to hospital during the past weeks and she reported on Facebook that he had tested positive for Covid 19.
Linda was able to see Peter at the end and, as ever, she was as brave and steadfast as she has been throughout Peter's struggle.
Peter was a man who influenced so many of us who knew him, a great athlete and passionate coach with tremendous vitality and spirit. When the current restrictions allow, I hope we will all have the chance to pay our respects and celebrate this remarkable person.
Rest in Peace, Peter.
Dominic
Great news!
Peter has recovered sufficiently and is now fit enough to fly back to the UK on an easyJet flight under the medical supervision of his surgeon, Dr Spyrou. He arrives on the 10th of December and Linda has found a place for him at Eagle Wood House, a private specialist neurologist centre in Peterborough.
The financial assistance provided by everyone who has so generously contributed has helped Linda and the medical team to get Peter in shape to travel. He was only 45kg back in April and today he is a (relatively) whopping 61kg! This photo was taken whilst I was out in Cyprus this last weekend and he looks so much better than when I saw him in the Spring.
Of course, our assistance doesn’t stop here and whilst Linda is busy writing the next chapter of the story, we can greatly alleviate the turmoil of moving their lives back to the UK through donating to this fund for Peter.
I have raised the target today to 12k as any additional funds will help with the logistics of flying Peter back and getting him settled into the specialist centre in the UK. Please contribute if you feel you can and share this news with those who you feel might be willing to help by donating to Peter’s fund. Simply click on the 'Donate now' button.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support our efforts to give him the best chance of recovery back in the UK
Many people in the pentathlon world will know Peter Whiteside as a top-class athlete whose long career included competing for Great Britain at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Peter was the 1985 British Modern Pentathlon champion and winner of multiple national team titles. Originally in the RAF, Peter transferred to the army and served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).
On retirement from the army Peter became a fencing coach supporting the development of the next generation of young athletes. He coached at Reading fencing club and elsewhere, and acted as director of fencing at numerous modern pentathlon competitions including the 2001 world championships and several world cups.
In 2007 Peter and wife Linda moved to Cyprus where they continued to live a happy and active life with Peter competing in Triathlons into his 60s.
In 2008 Peter was diagnosed with a brain tumour and with typical fighting spirit he made a rapid and successful recovery from the operation to have it removed. Unfortunately, in 2016 a further diagnosis showed a tumour on the brain stem and a second operation was necessary. Peter spent more than a year in hospital and for the past year has required 24 hours a day medical and nursing support. He is confined to a wheelchair, has double vision, requires gastro-intestinal feeding and whilst highly communicative and very much Peter, struggles to make himself understood.
This unexpected and catastrophic change in circumstances has had major consequences for Peter and Linda. This has included the liquidation of their assets in the UK to pay for medical treatment in Cyprus and, of course, ongoing medical and care expenses. Linda, who is amazingly positive and philosophical about the situation, is actively exploring options for bringing Peter back to the UK, however, current medical opinion is that it is not safe for him to travel until he puts on weight and he is some way off doing so.
Peter is Pentathlon family and this page is to raise funds to assist Linda with immediate support whilst she works on the right long term care for Peter. By way of illustration:
£500 would pay for a one on one carer for one month
£200 will pay for overnight nursing support for a week
£30 will pay for a specialist physiotherapy or day care session
Thank you for taking the time to read this far.
If you want to directly help Peter, please click the ‘Donate Now’ button below and contribute anything you can. Please also alert anyone else who you feel would be willing to support him.
Any donations will be so gratefully received and appreciated, and you can help Linda to write the best possible next chapter to this story.
Finally, we are looking to recognise Peter for his long service to Modern Pentathlon at an informal ‘testimonial dinner’ in his honour on the evening of the 9th June 2018 at Ravello in Bradford upon Avon (https://www.ravelloonavon.co.uk/gallery/) following the national modern pentathlon championships at the University of Bath. We hope that you will consider coming, perhaps after participating or spectating at the championships. We will look to run an ‘auction of promises’ to contribute to his testimonial fund and to celebrate his long career with anecdotes and stories from teammates and friends. If you would like to come, please let us know by emailing SupportPeter@proto-col.com
As Peter would say - "Never Quit!"
Organizer and beneficiary
Dominic Mahony
Organizer
Linda Whiteside
Beneficiary