Joe’s fundraising story

Joe lives in London with his wife and works in financial services. Joe and his family were touched by Willow’s generosity during his mum’s special day, where they watched the musical The Lion King and stayed in a hotel in London. More than 10 years on, Willow has had a lasting impact on Joe. He ran the London Marathon and Paris Marathon in April 2024 on behalf of Willow and in memory of his mum, Mary, who was diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away in 2014.

“Seeing the people from Willow cheering towards the end got me through it’’

“Deciding to run a marathon and fundraise for Willow has been one of my proudest achievements to date. I’m actually writing this whilst we have some time off from work to paint our house. I don’t often step away from daily life to speak about my Mum and revisiting some of the emotions from her diagnosis and passing have made me really emotional. I’m so glad that I have the connection with Willow to keep her memory alive and relive some of our cherished times together, because even though everyone says their mum is the best, I will forever be biased.

When I think about my mum, the same thought comes to mind; she looked for the best in everyone. She was only 20 years old when she had me and I always thought of my mum as being really cool. She had this unique ability to bring the best out in everyone she met. She was selfless in every aspect and always taught my sister and I to go and grab every opportunity we could. She would often talk about us seeing the world and finding out what makes us happy and brings us joy. She was just the most amazing person.

I remember when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a pivotal point in my teens as I was in the middle of my GCSEs. I don’t think any 16-year-old ever expects to hear that their mum might have cancer and I just remember feeling like everything was in slow motion. I knew that it wasn’t the norm to spend my evenings after school revising on the cancer ward but it soon became a way of life for us as a family.

My mum had an ability to take the worst situation in the world and make it much nicer for everyone. She never asked for anything or complained throughout any of her diagnosis; I’ll never know how she did that. After going through the first round of Chemotherapy, she made a great recovery and things seemed to return to normal for a while.

I went off to university and travelled for a bit on her sound advice to see the world but I’ll never forget the day that my Dad picked me up from the airport. I just knew he was going to tell me something I couldn’t bare to hear. She had been diagnosed again but this time with an aggressive form of liver cancer.

That was the moment that I realised that we might not be as lucky as the first time and I was going to lose my mum.  

My sister took on the lion’s share of the care which I will always be in awe of because she was even younger than me and was a pillar of strength. It was at this point that we were told about Willow through a very kind Macmillan nurse. The day that Willow arranged for us was nothing short of incredible, from the attention to detail in the lead up to the event to the organisation on the day itself. As a family, we went to see The Lion King and stayed in a hotel on the South Bank with a lovely dinner. On the day, mum was flying. It was almost as if the excitement of the day had managed to beat the diagnosis for a short period of time. Seeing her in such high spirits was something I’ll always remember. It was a rare chance for us all to forget about our reality for a day and just enjoy ourselves as much as possible and that’s exactly what we did.

Whenever we spoke about the day, I could just see mum’s face light up.

Unfortunately, mum deteriorated quickly after her Special Day, which made it even more meaningful that we had a chance to cherish some happy memories of her during that period. I was told just before my birthday they had taken the hard decision to stop her treatment. I knew this would be my last birthday spent with my mum and that time was now more precious than ever.

What felt like a matter of moments later, we knew this was it. She had a burst of energy like her old self just before she passed away peacefully at home. When the day came that we said our final goodbye at her funeral, the venue was over capacity. It was testament to just how many people she had an impact on and I couldn’t be more proud to call her my mum.

Since mum has passed away, I’ve tried to live my life a little differently. I’m still driven but my perspective on how much time I dedicate to work has changed; I still want to work hard and do well but I also want to seize all of the opportunities this wonderful life can offer just in the way my mum always told us to do.

This brings me on to running the London Marathon to fundraise for WIllow.

I wouldn’t say I was an avid runner but I could run up to a half marathon with some fitness training. Running double the length was definitely going to challenge me! I must have got the running bug because days before I ran the London Marathon I also ran the Paris Marathon for Willow. There’s nothing like the atmosphere in London though.  I looked at lots of different running plans and guides but ultimately I knew the best thing to do was just get out running until I saw an improvement. I started training from July 2023 so I had nine months to get myself mentally and physically prepared for the big day. The Willow team was so kind in the lead up to the event by sending me a running vest and a card to say good luck! That meant a lot.

On the day I was overwhelmed with how many people were cheering me on and at certain points of the course, this really carried me. I had groups of friends at different points and seeing their faces or people I hadn’t seen in years also running made it even more special. After the half way mark, I felt on a different planet at certain points but seeing the people from Willow cheering towards the end got me through it.

I had a playlist on and I remember my wedding song ‘Here comes the sun’ playing which instantly put me in a good mood. I felt so delirious and exhausted at one point and my mum’s favourite song by Judy Garland “Over the rainbow” played. It brought a smile to my face, and I found a second wind to keep going. I felt every emotion as I was running, it’s hard to explain. Running over Tower Bridge and seeing that iconic London skyline will stick with me for life. I treated myself to a delicious Katsu Curry afterwards to celebrate getting over the finish line in one piece!

Willow has impacted me and my family in so many ways. They provided me with favours for my wedding, which was so nice because it felt like my mum was with me in some small way. I’ve encouraged my friends and family to make donations as they have gone above and beyond for us and I’d like as many people as possible to experience the warmth and kindness that we did.”

Feeling inspired by Joe’s story? Find out more about fundraising for Willow.