Mum saddles up once again to honour her Lee
Whopping £250k raised so far for ‘my beautiful boy’
A mum has once again saddled up and looked out her running shoes to raise vital funds for a blood cancer charity in memory of her beloved son.
Elizabeth Anne Holmes’ family lost 12-year-old Lee Jamieson to leukaemia in August 2014 after a nine-month battle with the disease.
Since then the dedicated mum, with the support of those around her, has worked tirelessly to raise funds for Blood Cancer UK and its ground breaking research through Live it for Lee.
Funds raised by the charity are funnelled into the work of Professor Michelle West at the University of Sussex, linked to the type of lymphoma Lee had.
In spite of all of its events being cancelled since last March, the total raised in Lee’s name for Blood Cancer UK has reached £250,000.
Among a whole host of fundraisers by Elizabeth Anne was a 300 mile cycle in September, virtually covering the distance from London to Paris by pedalling across the central belt raising £1300.
Back in 2018 Elizabeth-Anne, from Westwood, took part in the epic London 2 Paris fundraiser – a whopping 500 kilometres over three-and-a-half days – raising nearly £13k for the cause.
And not content with the trials and tribulations of the cycle challenge, she also did a belated 50th birthday challenge to run 50 miles in February through snow, wind and rain raising £900.
Elizabeth Anne told the News: “I never thought for a second I’d take on a challenge like this – but with the charity struggling so much during lockdown, I chose to sign up on Lee’s birthday – it’s the only gift I can give.
“It was exhilarating being back on the bike – although I had no intention of ever doing it again.
“But I would do it all again and more for Blood Cancer UK and for Lee.
“I was tormenting everyone I knew to go out on the bike with me and it wasn’t without it’s close calls.
“I think one day I ended up in every bush I could, the bike was kaput so many times –I think it spent more times in Halfords than with me on it.
“It put me over the handle bars at one point – thankfully it was a soft landing – but I spent the whole journey back from Irvine worrying that it would do the same on the road.
“But Lee was with me the whole time - I can just imagine what he would have thought of his 50 year-old mum back on her bike again and I’m sure he would have said – ‘top class mum – over the handle bars and into a bush!’
“It should be him doing these things but he can’t so I will do them for him - and if you put a Blood Cancer UK T-shirt on me it’s amazing what I can talk myself into.
“But it’s Lee’s energy which keeps me going. At times I’m not sure if all I have done is Lee’s gift to me or mine to him – but everything I do is for our beautiful boy.”
Elizabeth Anne ended the virtual London to Paris cycle by going over the Forth Road Bridge with a fellow ambassador from Blood Cancer UK, saying the inspiring finale “melted her heart”.