Tina Waddle, 58, and her husband, Kevin, 65, packed in their careers and sold their house when they realised they had ‘more years of their lives behind them than what was left in front’
A pair of adventurous grandparents who gave up their jobs and sold their home to travel the globe “can’t wait to get back out there” after a cancer diagnosis put their journey on hold.
Tina Waddle, 58, and her husband Kevin, 65, decided to leave their careers behind when they realised they had “more years of their lives behind them than what was left in front”. The duo sold their £218,000 three-bedroom house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, along with most of their possessions, purchased a motorhome, and set off on a worldwide adventure.
Their thrilling escapades included hitchhiking across the Argentina-Chile border in Patagonia, climbing glaciers in Iceland, and camel riding through the Sahara desert.
In 2023, they sold their motorhome as they found themselves mostly backpacking, staying in hostels or house-sitting for friends and family back in the UK.
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However, their global adventures came to an abrupt halt when Kevin was diagnosed with anal cancer in March this year.
But as soon as Kevin recovers, they plan to hit the road again, with Tina already eyeing Armenia and Turkey for their next destinations.
Reflecting on the moment they discovered Kevin’s illness, Tina, a former NHS worker from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: “We were in Morocco in January when Kev told me he had some worrying symptoms – he thought it was piles, but I bought him some anti-fungal medication from a local pharmacy which had no effect.”
“We realised we needed to go back home and have it properly checked. When we arrived back in the UK in March, we went to the doctors and found out Kev has cancer,” she said. “Of course the immediate thought was ‘where are we going to live while he goes through chemo?’ We don’t have a house, the tumour was growing bigger by the day – Kev needed somewhere stable to rest and recuperate.”
“Luckily, we know some really fantastic, supportive people and have house-sitting arrangements in place until September,” she added. “Some time after that – as soon as Kev’s feeling fit and well – we’ll be off backpacking again.”
Tina and Kevin, who works in telecommunications, once lived a “typical family life” with their son, Scott, 36, and daughter, Steph, 31. However, in 2016, when a friend quit his job to move to Paris, France, only to suffer a fatal heart attack before completing the move, Kevin realised something had to change.
Tina recalled: “I remember Kev saying to me one day ‘I have more years behind me than what’s left in front’.”
“He wanted to do more, he wanted us to sell the house and make some money to buy a motorhome and just go travelling,” she continued. “I was really unsure – I’d never stayed in a motorhome, let alone thought about travelling round in one. But there was always the thought that ‘if it all goes wrong, we can just start again’.”
In February 2017, they sold their house and most of their possessions, using the proceeds to purchase a £25,000 six-metre motorhome. Tina said: “It felt like we were closing the doors on one life and opening the doors to another. It was such a fantastic feeling.”
The couple’s European tour spanned Spain, Italy, and Croatia with their van as base, occasionally detouring to backpack in more distant realms like Mexico, Vietnam, and China. Even after selling their beloved motorhome in February 2023 for £18,000 to continue their nomadic lifestyle, they cherished their travel-rich life even in the face of adversity.
When Kevin started showing worrying symptoms while in Morocco, they cut their travels short for a UK check-up, which led to an anal cancer diagnosis in March. Facing chemotherapy starting July 1 at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, Kevin muses, “Just think how I would feel now if we hadn’t taken the plunge 10 years ago to see more of the world.”
He adds poignantly, “I would have worked all my life looking forward to my retirement in July, only to be told ‘you have cancer’.”
Swiftly turning a grim diagnosis into a life lesson, he advised: “My point is, do not put your life on hold thinking ‘I’ll do that later’ and, as the old clichés go, ‘never put off until tomorrow what you can do today’, because tomorrow never comes.”
With Kevin’s recovery in sight, the pair are itching to hit the road again, grateful for the life choices they made.
Tina expressed her anticipation, she said: “We can’t wait for him to ring that cancer bell.” She remains optimistic about the future, adding: “The cancer is treatable and curable – as soon as he is fit and ready to go, we’re off backpacking again.”
Their impressive travel list includes destinations like the USA, Mexico, Egypt, and a host of European countries, showcasing their adventurous spirit.
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