Maria and Amie’s marathon story: Mum and daughter take on marathon challenge together

Maria Hutty, a nurse and mum of two, will be putting herself through her paces this month when she runs the Virgin Money London Marathon. Taking on the epic challenge before she turns 50, Maria will also be joined by her daughter Amie, 19, as they run together. The pair signed up to the run after Maria’s son, Ben, was supported by CLIC Sargent.

Ben, now 17, was working at a local pub washing pots during his Easter holiday in 2017 when he collapsed and hit his head on a quarry tile floor. Maria said it was the first indication for the family that there was something wrong.

Maria said: “We had been out earlier in the day and Ben had been his usually cheery self. But looking back, Ben had complained of a few mild headaches in the weeks prior, but nothing major.

“When we were in A+E following Ben’s collapse a doctor explained that they had noticed a shadow on his CT scan.”

The family were transferred to The Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham where Ben had an MRI and the family were told it was a brain tumour. Ben had surgery to remove the tumour and what was believed to be a low grade tumour turned out to be a Grade 4 Glioma.

“It was just quite surreal finding out. For a long time I couldn’t say the word cancer and I avoided seeing people so that I didn’t have to say it. Ben took everything in his stride and just dealt with his surgery and the treatment very positively.”

Intense treatment and radiotherapy meant the Hutty family faced a 60 mile round trip between their house and QMC. That’s where CLIC Sargent helped to support the family by providing accommodation for Maria to be close to Ben during his treatment.

“We were very lucky to stay in one of CLIC Sargent’s Homes from Home and Billy’s House for six weeks while Ben was having radiotherapy. It was a very difficult time, but it was helped by the support of lots of wonderful people and services.

“We experienced a lot of extra costs with travel, parking, time off work, loss of trade, days out, treats and overnight hotel stays. It has affected our lives in every way you could imagine. But we have tried to remain close as a family and continue to do fun things together.

“I had both financial and emotional support from our CLIC Sargent social worker. I felt very guilty taking time off sick from work and being able to talk this through with our social worker really helped. Having those day to day stresses taken away meant that we could just concentrate on what really mattered.

“I really don’t know how we would have coped without the support CLIC Sargent provided. Our experience without their help would have been unorganised, stressful chaos. As a result of all the fantastic support we have received and are still receiving, Ben has managed to come out of the other side of his treatment with hope and feeling positive for his future.”

Maria and Amie decided to sign up to run the marathon as a way of giving back to the charity.

“I have wanted to run the London Marathon since I first saw it back on the telly in the 80s. But I’ve managed to put it off, going from wanting to be the youngest to run it, running it before I was 30, then before I was 40 and now before I’m 50!

“Amie and I have bit the bullet this year. We want to run the marathon to say thank you for all of the support that we have been given.”

To sponsor and support Maria and Amie’s marathon challenge, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/teams/Hutty

Notes to editors

For more information about CLIC Sargent please contact Jessica Rees at jessica.rees@younglivesvscancer.org.uk or call 0117 311 2659.

About cancer in children and young people

Today, 11 more children and young people in the UK will hear the devastating news that they have cancer. Treatment normally starts immediately, is often given many miles from home and can last for up to three years. Although survival rates are over 80%, cancer remains the single largest cause of death from disease in children and young people in the UK.

About CLIC Sargent

When cancer strikes young lives CLIC Sargent helps families limit the damage cancer causes beyond their health. CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading charity for young cancer patients and their families. We provide specialist support, to help and guide each young cancer patient and their family. We will fight tirelessly for them, individually, locally and nationally. For more information, visit www.clicsargent.org.uk

Note to sub editors

Please note that the name ‘CLIC Sargent’ should not be abbreviated to CLIC, and that the word ‘CLIC’ should always appear in capitals, as above.