Brave Derby Mum takes the plunge

Local Mum Jackie from Derbyshire, is hoping she has a head for heights as she’s bravely decided to abseil 85ft from the roof of the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham to raise money for a cause close to her heart.  Jackie is taking on the challenge in aid of CLIC Sargent on Sunday 27th July and will be abseiling from the hospital where her son was treated for cancer. 

Jackie first noticed something was wrong with her son John when she was out picking conkers with him in late autumn 2000.  John had developed a small lump on the side of his neck and Jackie took him straight to the doctors to get it checked out.  “The doctor thought that the lump may be caused by an ear infection but as it didn’t go down after two weeks on antibiotics she referred us to Derby Children’s Hospital,” Jackie explains.  “I knew that the doctor was concerned about John’s lump as she pushed the hospital to bring forward our initial appointment and after initial tests there we were referred to Queens Medical Centre.” 

Tests were carried out on John’s lump but Jackie felt she already knew the result – mother’s intuition.  “It’s cancer isn’t it?” she asked the doctor and unfortunately he confirmed her worst fears, John had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer which forms in the soft tissues of the body.  Jackie, and her family, were devastated by the news but had to pick themselves up and be strong for John.

Soon after diagnosis John was taken down to theatre to remove the tumour but unfortunately the medical team could not remove it all as it was very close to nerves which affected his facial movement.  Once John had recovered from the operation he had to go through nine gruelling months of chemotherapy which made him very ill, the dose had to be reduced at one stage as his body was struggling to cope. He had to then also undergo radiotherapy to try and destroy any remaining cancer cells.

“Radiotherapy was the most disturbing part of John’s treatment for me,” explains Jackie.  “During the treatment it’s vital that the child stays still.  As John’s cancer was in his neck doctors made a clear plastic mould of his head, neck and shoulders which was then placed over him on the table to keep him from moving.  We weren’t allowed to be in the same room so I couldn’t hold his hand, that was the worst part just standing and watching him from behind a screen – I couldn’t help him.  I cried for the whole time he was on the table but John incredibly just laughed his way through it, which was really amazing.

“John was thankfully given the all clear in July 2001 and he recovered so well that he was back in school in that September,” Jackie says.

Since John’s experience Jackie and her family have been inspired to give something back to the people who helped them through.  “Everyone at the hospital, staff and patients, were so supportive whilst John was going through treatment that we wanted to give something back.  Over the years I’ve shaved my head a couple of times to raise money for CLIC Sargent and my partner Glen volunteers at one of the Charity’s holiday homes in Prestwick, Scotland,” says Jackie.

“CLIC Sargent were there for us every step of the way.  The specialist staff helped with emotional and financial support, sometimes you just wanted someone to have a cup of tea and chat with and they were there when you needed them,” she says.

Jackie is taking on the abseil challenge to raise funds so other families can benefit from the help and support that her family did whilst John was undergoing treatment. 

John is now a healthy and happy teenager but the family did recently have a scare when he noticed a lump on his chest.  “It was such a shock we thought John’s cancer had come back, it was very scary,” Jackie says.  “Thankfully it was something completely unrelated and he’s fine now, but it made me think again about how much help we had received from the Charity.  So I decided to sign up to the abseil on Sunday 27th July so CLIC Sargent can keep supporting families like they did ours,” Jackie added.

There are still places available for this event – for more information or to register contact Dee Richardson, CLIC Sargent's Event Fundraising Manager on: 0113 2307902.  Registration is £10 and participants are asked to raise a minimum of £100 each to take part.

Notes to Editor:

• For more information contact Ruth Bowen, Press Officer, CLIC Sargent on 0117 314 8617 or ruth.bowen@clicsargent.org.uk