Abi and the RGF – what ‘Making a difference…one individual at a time’ looks like and the reason why we need to continue raising funds to support young people, like Abi, across the UK.

Grant awarded on 3rd August 2020

Imagine…

Abi’s mum, Sam, approached the RGF back in August as Abi desperately needed a laptop. A laptop can be a lifeline to a young person having to cope with serious illness; it provides both a means of contact with friends and family and a hugely valuable educational aid to continue with studies remotely, as and when possible.

In the short time since we have helped Abi, Sam has been in touch with the following message to all the wonderful and generous supporters of the RGF.

Sam told us: “In September 2019, Abi was diagnosed at age 10, with ALL (Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia). Anyone who has been through a similar experience will know that your world literally falls apart and life feels like it will never return to normal again. Just a week before her diagnosis she had lost her grandpa to lung cancer, making her diagnosis even more frightening. Abi was admitted into the care of Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, and began her long battle to wellness. The disease and the chemotherapy to treat it robbed her of so much; her hair, her confidence, her life as she knew it. Perhaps hardest to accept was the loss of her passion – dancing. However, Cancer also prevented her from attending school and seeing her friends. It was such an isolating and challenging time. This September, however, she moved to high school and into the maintenance phase. This will continue until January 2022 and will still involve a considerable amount of chemotherapy. Slowly, however, she is returning to some form of normal, complicated of course by COVID 19. Graduating to secondary school was a huge milestone for Abi, but her frequent absence has meant that she must work from home quite a lot, on Google Classroom. Her current laptop was not making this easy, having worked hard for many years already and choosing to take early retirement! We heard about The Rob George Foundation and how they could support us in providing a better working environment for Abi and we were absolutely thrilled when they offered to purchase a new laptop for her. The Rob George Foundation took a weight off our shoulders, giving Abi a much better opportunity to progress in her studies remotely. This is more than just about the money though; we felt understood, protected and supported. Thank goodness for organisations like this. They keep families like us afloat.”

All of us at the RGF send our heartfelt thanks to Abi, Sam, and their family for sharing their story with us!

If you have been moved by Abi’s amazing story and would like to make a donation to the RGF, please visit our donation page where you will find various ways to support us!

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