Faith
Faith, aged three, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (stage 1) at eight weeks old, and needed surgery until she was one year and three months old.
Faith lives with her mum and dad in the Highlands, but has undergone treatment at the Yorkhill Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
- A round trip from the family’s home to Glasgow is 488 miles and costs approximately £63 in fuel.
Natalie, Faith’s mother, says: “To remove the tumours in Faith’s abdomen she has had to have a number of surgeries in Glasgow, which is really far from where we live in Thurso. My husband and I would drive to Glasgow, but we’d always need to stay there because you simply can’t make the journey there and back in a single day. We benefitted a lot from being able to stay in CLIC Sargent’s Cruachan House without charge. At weekends, when she was well enough, Faith could stay there too so that the whole family was together.
“Even so, we’ve still travelled a lot and spent many hours on the road with Faith. Even when Faith has appointments in Inverness, it’s still a long way to travel from where we live.
“Even though Faith is no longer undergoing surgery, she still has check-ups in Inverness every three months and one in Glasgow every year. On top of that we have to make a lot of other journeys because during Faith’s second surgery a nerve was cut and so she has a dropped foot. She had additional surgery in Glasgow for this and a splint fitted, meaning we have regular appointments with the orthopaedic surgeon and physiotherapists.
“When there was a possibility that Faith might need chemotherapy in addition to her surgery, we seriously considered moving to Glasgow even though my husband and I both have jobs where we live.
“The journey itself was one of the hardest parts of Faith’s treatment. It always helped when I was able to travel with either my husband or my dad. It made the journey a lot easier because my head would be all over the place, worrying about what was going to happen at the hospital, plus I had a crying baby to look after.
“We spent a lot of money because we had to travel so far. On top of petrol and parking, if you’re staying overnight somewhere there are basic things that you need to buy, and you’re eating out all the time.
“The £200 we received early on from CLIC Sargent was great to keep us ticking over, and our social worker helped us work out what benefits and support we were entitled to, as well as assisting us with the forms.
“CLIC Sargent really is a great charity. The support we’ve received from CLIC Sargent has definitely made things a lot easier for us.”