My Story
Drew was an incredibly healthy and fit man, but in 2019 he had developed this annoying cough. He went to the doctors and weeks of antibiotics and appointments, he ended up in hospital for tests, and he was then booked in for an endoscopy. When we went in for the results, I was 23 weeks pregnant with our second child. We were told at this point Drew had stage four ALK Lung cancer. This came as a bolt out of the blue to us. I knew so little about cancer that I asked what the cure was, ignorant to the fact that stage four was life-limiting. Without treatment, Drew would not see his second child born. Drew was quickly seen by oncology and prescribed Alectinib which for a short time worked and he lived well, he saw our second child born, he was able to see our first-born grow. Unfortunately, all too soon Alectinib stopped working, the cancer had returned due to this just before lockdown Drew was fitted with a indwelling drain in his Lung and a different drug, in normal circumstances a nurse would have drained it at home but with Covid being very prevalent I was trained how to drain, the poor man – there are very good reasons I did not go into nursing! As the fluid reduced it was a clear indicator the second line of treatment was working. Life was tough living with cancer, both of us employed fulltime, living through a pandemic and with two young children. In March 2021 Drew suddenly and unexpectedly took unwell at home and was admitted to hospital. This was during the time of no hospital visiting, I will be forever grateful to the Nurse who snuck me into the side room Drew was in to see him. We were able to chat, hold hands and just be together when I left, we kissed and exchanged “I love you,” Drew died later that evening. I find it hard to talk about my story and difficult to articulate the depth of sadness and loss I feel. Drew’s absence is profound. Our beautiful children are a testament to him and the legacy he has left. They are resilient and are puddle jumping their way through grief and loss. When the flowers stop coming there is a life still to navigate, I think this is one of the hardest things, to learn how to live after loss. Running and exercise helps me cope with my grief, I know the fitter I am the stronger I am physically but more importantly, mentally. Drew very much believed that not in his lifetime, but there is a cure to ALK Lung cancer. I run to raise money to help make this belief a reality, to live in a world where no family are without their person. Thanks for visiting my fundraising page. The girls and I are taking on the Sweat Every Day in November Challenge to help raise money for Cancer Research UK, so no other family are without their person. Please show your support and help fund life-saving research by donating to my page.
