On the 24th December 2007 our lives were turned upside down in the worst way possible, my beautiful 5 year old daughter Zara was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Zara had become ill at the beginning of December and lost over a stone in that short space of time, she couldn’t  stand the day light, had constant headaches and cried out in pain from her eyes, she slept constantly and could hardly walk, but doctors at our surgery and the GWH walk in clinic told me over and over it was a virus and it wasn’t until I took her in desperation to the fourth gp at our surgery they agreed I could take her for a blood test. All I kept thinking was I wanted her well for Christmas, Little did I know.................
I spent Christmas 2007 in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford with Zara where she underwent lumbar punctures and started her two and a half years of chemotherapy treatment, throughout her treatment Zara never complained and was so brave. I remember washing her beautiful long hair and clumps of it coming out in my hands and trying so hard not to let her see, she just turned to me and said “it’s ok mummy, don’t be sad it will grow back”, she was strong and took everything in her stride. Throughout this awful unimaginable journey we were supported by CALM, they supported and included us all in meeting other families that were going through or had come out the other side of the treatment, this helped me as Zara’s mum to stay strong and Zara made some wonderful friends and has some lovely memories of CALM events.

The worst thing any parent can ever be told is that their child has cancer or leukaemia, I never for one minute thought it could be me. We owe so much to CALM for all their support and they will forever be a part of our lives.
Both myself and Rob will skydive on the 8th September to raise money for this very special charity, I will be absolutely petrified, but I know that is nothing compared to what my little girl went through. Please support us if you can, even if it’s just a pound or two. Thank you for taking the time to visit my page xx