Children With Cancer Fund (Polegate) The Bon Bon, 5 Western Avenue Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 6EP Tel: 01323 485314 Email: info@childrenwithcancerfund.co.uk Registered Charity No.1110644

Here is the story in the words of Carly Gillard, Nicole's mum:

My name is Carly Gillard and I’m 24 years old.  I have 2 daughters, Nicole Lauren aged 6 and Jamie Lee aged 5.

On the 19th November 05 Nicole came down with the usual Christmas flu (cough, cold, temperature).  By the 28th the running nose and the temperature had gone but the cough was still no different so on the 29th I took her to the doctors.  Thinking he would send her home with some antibiotics I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Instead he sent me straight to the D.G.H. suspecting that she had pneumonia along with a lot of fluid on her lungs.  The hospital confirmed this and transferred us to the Royal Alexandra in Brighton.  There she was put under anaesthetic and had a chest drain put in.  The doctors were lovely but all I could see was them sticking needles in my baby, making her cry and making her hate me because I couldn’t stop them.  

A few days passed and I had no idea what was going on.  I asked and they told me that something wasn’t quite right, so they took some more blood and told me that they’d let me know the results by the next morning.  I knew something was wrong but I was no way prepared for what I heard.  I didn’t sleep a wink that night.  My mum was with me the whole time; she took me for dinner although I couldn’t eat.  She tried to make me laugh, that didn’t work either. Finally I fell asleep and woke up at 7 am.  It was the 4th December.  I walked onto the ward and there was my princess looking up, smiling at me.  We played, watched tele and then down the corridor walking towards me was the woman I’d dreaded seeing all morning.  She asked me to come into the back room with her.  I was crying before I could even sit down and then I heard it, the big ‘C’ word, Cancer.  That was it, I heard nothing else, I threw up and walked out.  I was numb, my heart was broken, and I just wanted to wake up.  I couldn’t cope, after that was just a blur.

Nicole and Jamie Lee

The family car

Nicole is only a little way into her treatment but so far she is coping really well.  She has made me so proud and as for me I’m coping well too.  It just goes to show that it’s not always someone else that these things happen to and somehow I found the strength to cope; with the help of my family, my friends and most importantly, “my beautiful daughters.” Also I’d like to say a big thank you to Chris and Ursula and all the people from CWCF.  I am a single parent and have found the last couple of weeks very stressful and with their help; I am now an independent, mobile single parent.

Games for the girls