Girls with a big reason to help
Teen sisters are inspired to run for the hospice that looked after their mum and dad
The tragic loss of a parent is hard for anyone to bear whatever their age. But to lose both parents in a short period of time, as two young Scarborough girls did, can only be termed as a major traumatic and life changing experience.
Laura, aged 15, and Becky aged 12, lost both their mother and father within a nine-month period and were supported by Saint Catherine’s Hospice all the way. Now the girls are determined to try to give something back in return for the help and support they received.
“Mum and Dad met, fell in love and settled down later in life than most people. Dad had emphysema and they didn’t think they could have children but eventually things worked out and we came along,” says Becky.
“Despite dad being poorly, we were just a normal family, although Dad sometimes couldn’t join in with holidays and things like that. Mum’s illness came on really quickly and she was taken into the hospice within a few weeks of diagnosis.
“It was very shocking and scary for us all. The nurses and the team at the hospice were always there for us, explaining things and listening to us. The week before she died the hospice arranged a picnic for all of mum’s friends in the gardens near her room.
“It was a gorgeous sunny day, also mum gave us a memory box each that she had created for us and we also had picnics on the grass outside her room organised by the nurses.”
Their mum Jacqueline or Jacq as she was known to family and friends, died a few days later leaving the girls in the care of their dad, John, and Emma a close relative who had agreed to take on the guardianship of Laura and Becky.
“Dad had suffered with emphysema for our whole lives but had always had bad periods and bounced back again” says Becky.
One afternoon about nine months after Jacqueline died John’s condition deteriorated and he was brought into the hospice.
“We planted a tree in the hospice garden, in memory of mum, outside the room that dad was in. He loved that and although he wasn’t well enough to go outside and see it, we took him pictures of it and it made him smile.”
The following day their dad died. The girls were at home with their legal guardian Emma who had been with them throughout the time both parents were ill.
“The girls have really suffered but the support around them has been wonderful” said Emma. “The services the hospice provide to support the girls through bereavement has been amazing.
“As part of their healing I wanted them to do something they thought they could never do but also something that allows them to be young kids enjoying themselves. They wanted to give something back to say thank you the hospice and so doing the fun Colour the Coast run seemed ideal.”
“Don’t let it ruin the rest of your lives, always stick together and be positive” was their mum’s parting words and ones that the girls have not forgotten.
The girls really enjoyed participating in the event. “We knew it would make mum proud that we were doing something positive together and we knew both of them would be smiling down at us,” says Becky.