“Your daughter has cancer.”

Four words no parent ever wants to hear.

I didn’t hear anything after the surgeon said them to us. I remember just bursting into tears, staring at my precious daughter and thinking, this is so unfair. She’s only four. We were meant to be worrying about scraped knees and bedtime stories—not cancer.

Since that moment, everything has changed.

Eleanor has just completed her first week of treatment—and frankly, she has bossed it. Her strength and resilience have blown us away. Adapting to hospital life has been challenging for all of us, but she’s met it head-on with a courage I didn’t know someone so small could have. We’re hoping for a few precious days at home before the first stage of aggressive chemotherapy begins.

In the middle of fear and uncertainty, I’ve found focus. As parents, we need to stay fit and healthy to fight this battle alongside our daughter. That’s why I’m continuing to challenge myself physically, and why my husband and I will be doing everything we can—through races, events, and any fundraising ideas we can come up with—to raise vital funds for the charities that are supporting us on this journey we never wanted to take.

We’ve set ourselves a big target of £5,000 because these funds are vital. I’ll also be asking my employer, Viridor, to support us again through fundraising matching—so there’s even an outside chance we could reach £10,000, which would mean the world to us and to the charities we’re supporting.

We’re raising money for three incredible organisations:

• Action Medical Research – funding life-changing research to give children a better future for over 70 years

• Young Lives vs Cancer – offering practical and emotional support to families, including free accommodation near hospitals

• The Royal Marsden McElwain Ward – where Eleanor is receiving the most compassionate, expert care

To raise funds, I’ll be taking on Race the Sun and the Manchester Half Marathon. Training is tough, but it’s nothing compared to what Eleanor is facing. This challenge gives me purpose—and a way to turn pain into something that can help others too.

This is my second fundraising page of the year, and every bit of support means the world to us. Whether you donate, share, or simply send us your love—thank you. You are helping to lift us up when we need it most..m