A lot of you will know that last December our family lost our beautiful Sarah. 

Sarah wasn't just a member of my family though, she was one of my best friends and my biggest inspiration in life. During the worst days of her illness, days on which she must have been feeling terrible, Sarah would call me up and make sure I was on my way to do her makeup. Sarah was an ambassador for East Cheshire Hospice and it was her job to speak about how the hospice helped her at fundraising events.

We would traipse round the Trafford Centre for hours looking for outfits in preparation for these events. When they came around we would get the tunes on, spend hours on our makeup, throw on our glad rags and off we would go. I know this sounds like girls being girls, and it was. BUT, it was a lot more too. 

Sarah was very poorly and at a time that it would have been easy for her to throw the duvet over her head and admit defeat, she did the total opposite. She held her head high, continued to be the most fun, glamorous and caring person I know and said "Screw You Cancer!"

I sat in awe watching Sarah at so many of these events. She would walk up on stage, even on days when her legs were failing her, and she would tell her story. Standing there looking beautiful she would share her experiences of her cancer and explain how it affected her life. Her message was, that with the right support you can live life to the full in the face of any situation!

Sarah certainly did this. Everyday would bring me a text, call or visit that would make me laugh. When I look back I realise that during her illness Sarah kept me going too. She kept the smile on my face and the laughter in my life. She never stopped for one second to feel sorry for herself. She continued to be the family organiser, whipping us all in to shape and giving us dates and times of places she wanted us to be. She continued to shop too, boy could that girl shop! The amount of times we would go on marathon shopping sprees and I would be distracting Carl while she stashed the goods behind some cupboard in her spare room :O)

Sarah had a lust for life like I have never seen. I often wondered how she did it, how she remained so strong? In reflection I realise that, that's just who she was, strong and beautiful with a wont be beaten down attitude. BUT, even the strongest people have wobbles and I know Sarah had one when she relapsed with her breast cancer. 

This is where the East Cheshire Hospice stepped in and helped her find herself again. Sarah was initially hesitant to attend the hospice, upon her relapse though she went for it, and the difference in her was incredible. She would attend their beautiful Sunflower Centre and in her own words this is what it meant to her...

"The services I have used in the Sunflower Centre have changed my attitude towards my cancer; I refuse to let it dictate and run my life. The hospice helps people like me every single day, during what can be the hardest and most upsetting times of their life. Please support them in any way you can; any gift you make will help someone else live their life to the full."

Last year Sarah was made an ambassador for the hospice. She shared her story with thousands of people, speaking at events about the incredible work the hospice do and how much easier they had made her personal journey through a difficult illness.

I personally will always be grateful to the hospice for putting the twinkle back in her beautiful eyes, for helping her to come to terms with being dependent on her loved ones, and helping her realise that she could still live an incredible, fun filled life despite being poorly. At the end when she was losing her battle, the hospice looked after Sarah and my family so well. I could never thank them enough for all they did.

If it wasn't for the hospice I wouldn't have had the beautiful memories I've shared with you at the start of this story. They helped support Sarah and all of us during one of the hardest times of our lives and for that I will always be grateful.

So now myself and my family are getting together to form Team Rainbow and walk in memory of our beautiful Sarah. We want to continue her work in supporting the hospice, not just as a thank you for all they did for us, but also to try and help them continue to support others that now need them.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and memories of Sarah. Any donation would be much appreciated and a big help to the hospice. We are hoping that there will be around 80 of us walking 5k in Team Rainbow on the day. On this page you can sponsor either myself, Ché, my Mum Elaine or Dad Steve.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this guys.

Lots of Love
Sonya xx