A
terminally ill mum from Devon has finally completed her voyage around the UK
just over a year after she was forced to abandon the trip when her appendix
burst.

Inspirational
mother-of-three Lori Murdock from Topsham has an aggressive form of skin cancer
and was initially given only months to live.

The
59-year-old retired solicitor and law lecturer decided to spend some of the
time she had left sailing and raising £10,000 for cancer charities FORCE,
Hospiscare and Macmillan.

With
her Patterdale terrier Betty for company, she set out from Falmouth in May 2013
on board the Kasuje III, a 1953 Yeoman Classic gentleman’s racer cruiser.

They
sailed anti-clockwise, with friends joining them for various legs of the trip,
and had reached the West coast of Scotland when disaster struck at Ardrishaig
on the Crinan Canal.

“I
had peritonitis and was rushed to Oban Hospital for an emergency operation to
remove my appendix so that was that,” said Lori.

The
boat had to go back to Dartmouth on a low loader and Lori eventually returned
home to recover and continue her battle against cancer.

‘On borrowed time’

Lori
added: ‘I’m on borrowed time but I’ve learnt to live in the moment and sailing
gives me such a lovely sense of well-being that I wanted to finish my big
adventure.’

In
May she set out from Totnes on the penultimate leg of her voyage, sailing Misty
with a friend via the Isles of Scilly to Holyhead.

In
August Lori joined fellow Topsham Sailing Club members Gill and Godfrey
Whitehouse aboard their boat Rebecca to complete the final 200-odd miles from
Anglesey back to Ardrishaig.

So
how did she feel at the finish?

‘Certainly
mixed emotions. So, so pleased to have done it, so very, very blessed still to
be alive to sail it.

‘As I sailed across the line I thought of all those that I
have met through melanoma that are no longer with us. I am very fortunate
indeed. Good to remember that I planned this sail six months into a prognosis
of nine months to live. I am extremely grateful,’ she said.

Lori
is now back in Devon where she continues her battle against cancer while
working hard to raise awareness of malignant melanoma.

She added: ‘I
gave out literature everywhere I went on my trip. Melanoma is the most
aggressive form of skin cancer but it can be cured in most cases if you catch
it early. I encouraged everyone I met along the way to check their skin, get to
know it so you can spot any change, however small. Get it checked out straight
away.’

To
donate to Lori’s appeal please visit virginmoneygiving.com/lorimurdock