Jop from Gemert was diagnosed with cancer on his birthday. Now that he is no longer there, his family will go on the mythical mountain Alpe d’Huez for him on Thursday to raise money for cancer control. Monique Rutten (56) carries her deceased son up in her heart. At the top she calls his favorite farewell greeting to heaven: “Challas!”
Receipts from McDonald’s with his favorite chicken nuggets or a bottle of his favorite drink Desperados: everything that makes Jop thinks is holy. A special memory box shows off in the living room.
“A very sweet boy. Really a hug bear,” mother Monique beams when she thinks back to him. “Every morning I give him a hug,” she does, when she grabs the urn.
Jop was only 20 years old. He has been sick for a year and a half. The student mechatronics Had just started the new school year in 2021, when he felt a bump in his neck. He got a fever and there were more bumps. It turned out to be blood cancer: acute lymphatic leukemia. “Your world collapses. It is very unreal. I froze completely,” says Monique Emotional. “Nothing in the world is still important, you just want it to get better.”
“Jop was not afraid to die.”
Chemos and a stem cell transplant were not allowed to help JOP. He turned out to be incurably ill. Jop organized a sleeping party, treated the best champagne and said goodbye to friends and family. On May 7, 2023 he died at home with his family, the way he wanted. “Jop was not afraid to die. He could accept it. That gave us strength to continue.”
On the back of Monique’s sports shirt is ‘lots of success’, written by her son. A nice photo of Jop as extra motivation hangs around her neck. She wants to walk the French mountain twice. She doesn’t do that alone. Jops father Stijn, brother Niels, sister Janneke and their partners are also getting up.
Stuff
The heavy road to the infamous top has 21 hairpin bends and is 14.5 kilometers long. The height difference between Start and Finish is 1100 meters, with an average increase of 7.9 percent.
Extreme
The family is participating for the second time this year. Last year the event was temporarily stopped due to extreme rainfall. Heat blankets overshadowed the course for a short time. “I felt very alone on the mountain.” The thoughts of Jop dragged her through the stormy weather. “Jop has had to experience much more, this is not too bad,” she told herself. And she came up.
The musical family finds comfort especially in music. That is why father Stijn composed a classic piece. Hot Chansopportunities in English. By the word cancer A ‘H’ has been added and the ‘r’ turned into an ‘s’. “A tribute to Jop, who mainly seized all the opportunities to heal leukemia,” explains Father Stijn proudly.
“Losing your child, nobody has to experience that.”
By playing the song, the musical family hopes to raise money for cancer research. Monique: “Losing your child, nobody has to experience that. I want no one to go through the same thing as Jop.”
Houdoe? Jop had nothing to know about that. The somewhat withdrawn gamer preferred to use street language. Challas, that was the greeting from Jop. And so the family still calls that to each other. “First a box and then Challas!” She does. Also Thursday on top of the mountain. “We can’t get closer Jop.”
Watch live
Alpe d’HuZes is an annual event where as much money as possible is collected for cancer research. Omroep Brabant reports all day on 5 June by Alpe d’HuZes. From nine o’clock Thursday morning to five o’clock Thursday afternoon you can follow the event live on TV and online.