A Northern Ireland mum is aiming to establish a charity to support people living with cancer here after losing her own daughter to the disease.
Geraldine Magill from Antrim lost her 35-year-old daughter Lisa just five years after her initial diagnosis. Just over eight years ago on March 11 2017, Geraldine and Peter Magill from Antrim lost their 35-year-old daughter Lisa to sarcoma, a rare and incurable form of stomach cancer, just five years after her initial diagnosis.
Lisa fearlessly documented the good, the bad and the ugly sides of living with terminal cancer in her blog ‘Terminally Fabulous’. Despite her grim diagnosis, Lisa wrote with humour and searing honesty as she documented living her final days with a terminal illness.
Her raw, yet funny antidotes became popular with tens of thousands of followers and helped countless people cope with cancer, sending and receiving messages until days before her passing, when her mum took over. A few weeks before Lisa passed, Geraldine made a promise to her daughter; she'd turn her work into a book, which she later did.
The family had been living in Australia at the time and were assisted by the charity Dreams2Live4. As Lisa's cancer journey neared its end, this amazing charity reached out and asked if they could make a dream come true for her.
One week later the family were on a plane to Broome in Western Australia. For the next five days, the 'c' word wasn't spoken and for the first time in a long time, Lisa felt like any other woman on a family holiday enjoying life.
Grateful for giving Lisa a much-needed holiday as the family struggled with her terminal illness, Geraldine now wants to replicate that kindness by establishing Dreams2Memories. Having moved back home to Northern Ireland to be close to her grandchildren, she says that setting up this charity in Lisa's memory will bring some much needed joy and happiness to cancer sufferers and their families during the most difficult of times.
She told Belfast Live: "Lisa's 8th anniversary has just passed and it's a bit like everything, you'll be going along great and then you'll just get hit like a ton of bricks, through something simple, maybe you pass the place or you get a message from one of her friends. A lot of her friends would have just turned 40 not that long back, as Lisa would have, and I find things like that really tough.
"I'm happy for her friends and they were so supportive as we were in Australia at the time and would have been lost without them, but it is still tough because you're thinking that we should have been celebrating Lisa's 40th. Lisa was 30 when she was diagnosed with cancer, and then 32 when we were told she was terminal and it's just cruel at any age, but especially in someone young."
Dreams2Memories will focus on providing families with the opportunity to fulfil lifelong dreams or enjoy meaningful experiences, ensuring that all necessary medical arrangements, travel accommodation and proximity to hospitals are carefully coordinated – a service that had a profound impact on Geraldine and Lisa during their final time together.
Geraldine added: "I was shocked when I got home about the long wait times here for medical services and my mind went right back and I thought, 'oh my goodness, how would we have coped being in the same situation?' People have to wait to get their scans and then they've got to wait to get their results and for somebody that's terminal.
"A day can feel like a month when you're waiting on results and I just thought there has to be something for these people. So I decided that the UK and Ireland badly need a charity like Dreams2live4 as this Australian charity makes dreams come true for patients with metastatic cancer, recurrent lymphoma, relapsed leukaemia and high grade brain tumours.
"Lisa’s dream was to visit Broome in Western Australia. and during our five day trip, cancer wasn’t talked about. We were just a normal family, having a normal holiday but without the stress of planning, booking and looking after all the small details that were so important.
"Now it’s our turn to give back and Dreams2Memories will make dreams come true for adults with metastatic cancer. A dream could be as simple as a lovely family photo shoot, a much needed weekend break or as big as a beautiful wedding. But to make these happen I need all the help I can possibly get. However, making dreams come true without some much needed fundraising and support from local businesses will be next to impossible."
Geraldine is now working with local community representatives and support groups to help her with the mammoth task of setting up this amazing charity. She has already been in discussions with Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Neil Kelly; South Antrim MP Robin Swann and trustees from Macmillan and is also receiving support from other councillors and Antrim Enterprise Agency.
She added: “Currently we are looking for an amazing ambassador to support our charity. A genuine, warm and caring personality who can raise awareness and influence others to help us reach our goals. What’s important to me is that they are as passionate about the cause as I am and they genuinely care about helping others."
Any businesses or individuals who can help Geraldine, can contact her by calling 07513 356659 or email [email protected]. You can keep up to date on the Dreams2Memories Facebook page and support the fundraising campaign on GoFundMe here.
Be is your home for all things lifestyle - from health and beauty, to work life and parenting, careers and cooking to fashion and features, and everything in between.
So to make sure you don't miss out on the things that matter to you, we've created a brand-new newsletter pulling the best of Be's content together twice a week.
To sign up, simply enter your email address here and we'll do the rest.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our Be lifestyle newsletter for all the latest showbiz, fashion, beauty, family features and more.
English (United States) ·