Watching our daughter Issy face the sheer hell that cancer has brought to her life with determination and bravery, and watching little sister Tilly step up courageously, not once but twice, to give her marrow and cells, and watching Eve, their big sister keep her head and our home steady throughout despite Covid interrupted GCSE and A-level courses - we thought we ought to challenge ourselves!

On 24 June 2023, 4 years to the day that Issy received her first leukaemia diagnosis, we will set off, hand in hand, from Llanberis to scale Mount Snowdon by night, descending into the sunrise in the early hours of the following morning. We’d be grateful for any sponsorship to help us give back to the incredible hospital that has given our daughter not one but two rounds of life saving treatment. 

A little background…

Issy was diagnosed at 11 years old with a rare form of leukaemia - Ph+ALL - in June 2019 and smashed through 2 years of chemo. After 8 months off treatment and in remission, Issy was diagnosed in March 2022 at 14 with a second leukaemia - CML - very rare in kids of her age. 

In July 2022, after intense chemo and radiation therapy, Issy underwent a stem cell transplant using cells harvested from her little sister Tilly, then just 11 years old. These healthy cells give Issy a chance to live the long and healthy life we all want for our kids. Tilly has provided further cells since the initial transplant to top up Issy’s levels. 

All of the procedures Issy and Tilly have undergone were carried out under the care of the Royal Marsden team with support from their colleagues at St George’s Tooting and East Surrey Hospital. The care Issy and our family have received from the NHS has been outstanding. Nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants, cleaning and kitchen crews, play therapists, charity workers, physio, massage, psychotherapists, everyone has done their utmost to make Issy’s treatment and our whole family’s journey as comfortable as possible. Now we want to give something back.