We're some of the lucky ones

2024 is a year we'll never forget. It's been a year of fear, determination, and gratitude.

At first, it felt like our world came crashing down. You hear the words “I’m sorry, your daughter has leukaemia” and your mind immediately goes to a dark place - that feeling from those first few hours will stay with us forever. Life is just so fragile and precious, and you feel so helpless.

Within a matter of hours, we arrived at Great Ormond Street on Elephant Ward and we immediately knew we were in safe hands. From Beatrice's medical team and beyond - the nurses, the play therapists, the physios, the cleaners and countless volunteers - we were blown away by the positivity, love and support that they showed our family.

But this was just the start of our marathon. Adapting to daily life in hospital with Beatrice as she was going through chemotherapy, maintaining a sense of normality for Jarlath back at home, as well as all the little things we take for granted in our day-to-day lives. For Fiona and myself these were some of the hardest weeks and months we hope to ever go through.

It’s been the most challenging experience of our lives, but we know we’re some of the lucky ones. Beatrice is recovering from chemotherapy and returning back to normality one day at a time. Now it's time for us to give back and pay it forward to the next families going through this experience.

We couldn't be prouder to support Great Ormond Street in their fundraising efforts to open a new Cancer Centre, to support even more patients diagnosed with childhood cancer and to support these children through this ordeal.

Looking ahead to 2025, I’ll be taking on a different kind of marathon, running the London Marathon in April and we need your support!

Your generosity and donations will go a long way to helping families like ours for generations to come. Thank you in advance for your support.

Oli, Fiona, Jarlath & Beatrice xx