In early November 2016 my three year old nephew, Drew Barker-Wright, was diagnosed with Chordoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the skull base and spine. He was admitted to Oncology at Birmingham Children's Hospital where he began intensive chemotherapy and surgery.
Drew's journey was fraught with complications from the outset. This was primarily due to the rareness of his cancer and the lack of documented cases. Drew's journey eventually led to PICU where doctors tried their best to save Drew's life but, he slipped into a coma and his parents were told that there was nothing more they could to for him clinically. They chose to bring him home for his final days. On the morning of February 24th 2017, Drew took his last breath with mummy and daddy. His battle was brief and brutal but, bravely fought for one so young.
Since losing Drew, we have all tried to find some positivity in all our heartache. The local and wider community raised a substantial amount of money for Drew, during his fight and his parents feel this needs to be spent on improving the chances of survival for other children with this diagnosis.
Currently, they are in the process of setting up a charitable trust in Drews' name which will focus on raising money to fund paediatric chordoma research and support young children around the world whose lives have been devastated by this cancer.
This is the first event in Drew's memory, we have assembled a team of 50+ runners to take on the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 1st 2017. The team consists of seasoned runners and absolute beginners. We are delighted to have onboard, Steven Mandel, a chordoma survivor.
We hope that this will be the first of many events in Drew's memory, aiming to raise as much money as possible and improve the chances of survival for paediatric chordoma sufferers worldwide.
Please support this wonderful team of runners as we dedicate our time, sweat and tears to the memory of Drew, a very special and unforgettable boy.