Eighteen Weeks and a Fight For Life: Transforming Hope

A husband who lost his wife, but still found reasons to hope.

Eighteen Weeks and A Fight for Life by Steve Donald is a heartfelt memoir recounting the battle that he and his wife Gloria faced against her life-threatening illness.

After Gloria fell and broke her shoulder in February 2021, a cascade of health issues followed, culminating in a diagnosis of bowel cancer. Despite surgeries and chemotherapy, the cancer spread, leading Gloria to undergo a major operation in March 2022, followed by another life-saving surgery in Basingstoke in 2023.

Throughout this harrowing personal journey, Steve and Gloria’s unwavering faith in God provided them with strength and resilience. Their true story reflects the transformative power of Christianity, not only in surviving a medical crisis but in finding meaning and purpose in suffering.

Steve’s narrative also highlights the profound role of spirituality in healthcare.

The support of doctors, nurses and the Christian community, along with the power of prayer, proved to be a vital part of their emotional and physical roller coaster.

This memoir underscores how, even in the darkest moments, a living faith can offer hope, community and a sense of purpose, making it a powerful testimony of the intersection between spirituality and resilience in times of crisis.

Steve Donald ============

Steve Donald was an Anglican vicar for thirty-four years. Steve taught for three years before attending Capernwray Bible School, near Lancaster, where he met his wife Gloria who went home to Jesus in October 2023 after a long battle with cancer. Steve lives in Morecambe, UK.