In 2018 my family & I (Sian) will be taking part in many events to fundraise for the Christie after sadly losing our Mum to Ovarian Cancer on June 17th 2017 (Age 51).  This is to ensure we have her name etched onto a gold leaf in The Christie gardens which she so loved!  We have to be recognised for raising a significant amount of money for The Christie before we can receive this leaf, however the money will be going towards anything The Christie requires. 

The first event - The Christie Tower Run. 25th February 2018, completed by Sian and Paige.  

Second event - Simplyhealth Greater Manchester Run 10K on May 20th 2018. 

Third event. Disneyland Paris half marathon 23rd September 2018.

Fourth event . Zipwire in Manchester. March 10th 2019.

The reason for the Christie is because Mum was extremely poorly around Christmas in 2013, to later find out it was Stage 4 ovarian cancer. It hit us all as a complete shock and it was exceptionally difficult to take in especially when it was around my 21st birthday. 

Our local hospital couldn't provide any treatment for Mum, it was too advanced and she needed special care and that's why we transferred her to The Christie, who specialise in Cancer patients and are ranked the number 1 hospital in the U.K. Within in a week they had organised appointments and treatment options for Mum, discussed wigs, remembered all our names and, made us feel so very welcome and most importantly calm. 

During Mums 3 and a half years at the Christie she battled her way through a huge 8 hour operation, 5 different kinds of chemotherapies of which many were 18 weeks long, months of a preventive drug called avastin which hugely affected her mobility,  many drains which were fitted to her lungs and stomach to help drain the fluid build up, plus numerous scans , x rays, dreaded results days, plenty of over night stays and stacks of medication. 

Throughout all of that, every member of staff at that hospital made us all feel at ease, they became our second family. Nothing was every too much trouble, from free coffee and biscuits, sympathetic ears, numerous hugs, not forgetting their smiley faces, hilarious stories and practical jokes which always made mum and the rest of us smile from ear to ear. 

A key place which we all loved to sit when Manchester actually had some sun was the conservatory at the hospital which had beautiful views of the garden. The main reason for this large amount of money is so we can get mums name on a gold leaf which is attached to the memory wall in the Christie garden. I promised her I would raise this amount no matter how long it took, because we knew how much she valued the hospital and they reflected the same love back to her. Without the Christie we wouldn't have had our Mum for those extra years! Even though times were tough in those extra years Mum always made sure she lived her life to the full. Always wanting to be outside and so desperate to see her friends and family who she loved so much, from cake and coffee outings, weekend breaks with our amazing dad, to one of her favourite places - the theatre. 

But most of all we would love to thank the Christie on how they dealt with Mums last few weeks and most importantly her last night! My Dad, my brother and I are very thankful for the way they cared for the three of us so much .

We had Mum at home for about 5-6 weeks before she went into hospital for the last time. At this point  Dad and I were living at home being her full time carers as Mum was unable to do anything for herself, alongside our amazing brother cousin and auntie. We had no other teams or services to help us, it was solely just family. We were all very much needed 24/7. Dad was currently off work long term and I cared for her around side my work hours, ( admittingly  I did take time off to care for my gorgeous mum as well) which meant there was many sleepless nights as I would be sat downstairs with her till early hours being her beckoned call but I wouldn't have had it any other way.  We knew the cancer was more advanced than ever and it was becoming difficult for Mum to be well enough for treatment. Weeks would be passing by and we knew this meant it would just start to spread.  We had seen these signs  before, one of them being fluid build up which made it near enough impossible for mum to lie down as it would make her breathless. It was so painful to watch her like that and we were desperate to get her to The Christie for help. We somehow managed to get her into a car on one treatment day though and take her to Manchester, unfortunately we didn't know that Mum would never come back out of the hospital with us. 

From the minute Mum arrived the staff were beyond perfect to the whole family. Mum was always at the forefront, they were so desperate to make her laugh and feed her anything she asked for! They would often stay behind after shift to chat to her, hug her, laugh with us all and make us all comfortable. This also gave the family the chance to become her beloved family again, as they would take care of all her needs and we could just chat, hug, support and love her all day long. 

On Friday 16th I got the dreaded phone call... Mum had stopped responding to any kind of treatment they had been so working hard on and the fluid was building up. They just wanted to make Mum comfortable until we had to say our goodbyes. I still have no words to this day on how I felt all I remember is my boyfriend bundling me into the car to get to her and constantly ringing Dad to ensure I would be there on time. Luckily Mum was a fighter and gave me numerous hours to spend with her. From the moment we arrived the staff explained everything so calmly and so thoroughly yet you could see their hearts breaking just as much as mine, my brothers and Dads ( and other family members who stayed with us all night). They felt all our love and our pain and nothing was too much trouble. They wanted to do anything for us to ensure we understood, we were calm, and we were as comfortable with the situation as we could be. The same applied to our beautiful Mum. 

They were so quiet and patient whilst treating her comfort throughout the night and had nothing but praise on how we handled the situation. Mums hospital room was perfect, full of beautiful music, love, smiles and calmness and they couldn't believe it. They had never seen a family with so much care and respect for a loved one but little did they know it was all because they had made us feel that way. We were so desperate to make Mum feel the most love she had ever felt, I never wanted to stop holding her hand and kissing her forehead. But as we said our goodbye at 6:35am on Saturday 17th June they provided us with as much privacy as we needed but also their up most support and open arms for us all as we left the room. They were a hospital full of angels! 

So for all of the reasons above in this story, this is why  our family is so determined to raise £15,000 for The Christie!