Story
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This is Phoebe with her dad Mark. She should have been 10 this April but regrettably she will always be 8. In this photo she is enjoying an afternoon walking in the hills with her dad, she was also a keen horse rider and loved riding and being around horses and ponies and had an incredible affinity with them.
Phoebe loved the outdoors where her radiant spirit could be unleashed and her zest for life and nature could be let loose. She had a mischievous spirit, loving to prank, an endearing cheekiness with sparkly eyes betraying her next mirthful moment. She always wanted to make people laugh and spread her special cocktail of happiness and joy to others. She had a rare and precious gift. She knew how to love deeply and she was much loved. When she was in the room life was always brighter, sharper (unpredictable), more real and more enjoyable filled with laughter and joy.
In the summer of 2019 Phoebe was diagnosed with a DIPG, a highly aggressive inoperable brain tumour. There was a rapid onset of symptoms in the space of a day with no prior warning. Phoebe passed away on 23rd November, a mere 3 months after diagnosis.
There is no cure. The disease is brutal and super aggressive with the cancer wrapping around the healthy brain stem, restricting movement, speech, sight, and the ability to swallow and eventually breath. it is truly horrific. What makes it even more shocking is that treatment has not changed in 60 years. The astronaut Neil Armstrong's daughter Karen received the same diagnosis as Phoebe in 1962. They were offered the same treatment as Phoebe - radiation. This would provide a few months at most of improved symptoms but Mark and the family were told to go home and make memories. In this day and age this cannot be right.
Every 9 days another family in the UK is destroyed by this diagnosis and the absence of hope.
Phoebe's zest for life, love of adventure and cheekiness are all treasures she shared with her dad Mark. We are a group of Mark's work friends wanting to raise funds for Abbie's Army in memory of Phoebe and the huge impact she had on everyone she met.
We will collectively and virtually be going from Land's End to John O'Groats and back (1,748 miles) over the month of July, hoping to raise as much as we can for a truly special family and charity. Given Phoebe loved horses we will be covering the distance by a combination of horse, foot, bike and swimming, including one member completing a gruelling Iron Man.
Thank you for reading Phoebe's story and we will be grateful for any amount you are able to donate.