Saddest goodbye
More than £160,000 has been raised for the orphaned children of Mike and Julie Bennet whose last moments together were captured in this heartbreaking photo
Daily Express Tuesday February 14 2017
tHEIR hospital beds were pushed together so that they could hold hands as the end approached. And less than 24 hours after this picture of Mike and Julie Bennet was taken, Mike, 57, lost his four-year battle with a brain tumour at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, near Birkenhead.
Julie, 50, was then moved to a hospice and less than six days later she too was dead, a victim of the liver and kidney cancer that spread to other parts of her body.
Many people will find it hard to look at such an image without fighting a desire to turn the page but the truth is that it is a portrait of caring as well as of pain and suffering. A reader of the Liverpool Echo perhaps put it best in a comment below that newspaper’s story on the Bennets’ final days: “It’s a show of love and togetherness. Through thick and thin, good times and bad times, they stood together even in death.
“I take strength from this photo. I find it very touching and moving and I see past the death that looms and see only the love that these people nurtured as a couple.”
And like so many stories of love and loss it has been followed by an uplifting aftermath. The Bennets are survived by their three children Luke, 21, Hannah, 18, and Oliver, 13.
Sue Wright, a friend of the family, says: “I told Julie the community would help look after her kids and she opened her eyes and smiled.”
Wright’s words turned out to be prophetic. Jayne Moore, a public relations consultant who herself survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 10 years ago, offered her services for free and, as the heartbreaking story of the couple who died within a week of each other spread, donations began flooding in. A firm of solicitors volunteered to administer the proceeds of the fundraising efforts and all the signs are that they will have their hands full.
aN ONLINE Just Giving page set up to receive donations for the children had attracted more than £160,000 (smashing the £50,000 target) by the time the Daily Express went to press last night. And the money is needed if the children are to stay together at the family home in Irby on the Wirral.
“The biggest challenge is that the family vehicle – a Motability car – has to be returned meaning the children can’t get around,” says family friend Heather Heaton Gallagher.
“Julie and Mike have been the most supportive parents, encouraging their children’s interest in dance and acting. All three children thrive on the stage and I know that Julie and Mike would not want this to stop their children from performing. To help them do this we need to make them mobile again.”
The target of £20,000 for the car has already been easily achieved as people’s amazing generosity continues. Heaton Gallagher says the total raised so far has “blown everyone’s socks away”, adding: “The kids are astounded. They are seeing all this support coming from across the world and it’s inspirational to them.”
When the Bennets got married Mike was a cabinet maker and Julie was a primary school teacher, who taught at Somerville School, Wallasey. In the years that followed the couple became known – in the words of one friend – “for their generosity, their love for life and their downto-earth approach”.
Mike’s cancer was diagnosed first in 2013 and Julie cared for him at home. Then tragedy struck for a second time in May last year when she was given her own fatal diagnosis. “Julie has kept the children in a normal routine while dealing with Mike’s illness,” says Heaton Gallagher. “When she became ill she made it her purpose to create as many memories as a family for the children to hold on to.”
sHE adds: “Facing a double terminal cancer diagnosis is beyond belief and as a community we are working hard to support the family so they can stay together and ensure they can continue their education.”
Luke says: “My brother, sister and I are overwhelmed by the enormous support and generosity we have received from so many friends and well-wishers.” Donate at justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/claire-knight-2