St Catherine’s Hospice: 50-mile static cycle ride

Cycle ride challenge raises over £1,400 for local hospice

Jodie Fry and her best friend Becky cycled 50 miles on Sunday 1st August to raise money for St Catherine’s Hospice who have been supporting Jodie’s Mum Lisa.

Cheered on by Lisa, family and friends, the pair saddled up on static bikes at the Hornbrook Inn pub in Horsham. They raised over £1,400 for their local hospice.

Jodie said, “In 2019, Mum’s smear test came back all clear. When she began feeling unwell earlier this year, she was originally diagnosed with kidney stones. When we found out she had cervical cancer it was a big shock for us all. We’ve never had cancer in our family so it just goes to show it can happen to anyone.

“At first, Mum was told her cancer was stage one but within weeks we discovered her cancer was aggressively growing and spreading, decreasing her chance of survival. It was so quick and unexpected as Mum has always been the fittest, healthiest person I know.

“Mum’s cancer has been a lot for her to process. She’s had to deal with emotional and physical pain and face her inner demons. Throughout everything, St Catherine’s have supported her and their nurses helped sort out her medication.

“She’s been so strong throughout her illness. Mum was never the type of person to sit in bed feeling sorry for herself. She was always up and about and going to the gym, so to then sit in hospital for two months was a very different change for her. I’m so proud of her. Mum had six weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in lockdown, and amazingly her latest test results showed there’s no tumour anymore. Mum was facing the end of her life but now she’s come out the other side. She’s starting to get her independence back and can walk and drive again. “Seeing Mum go through her treatment and knowing we couldn’t physically help her was hard. To show our support, my best friend Becky and I decided to cycle 50 miles on static bikes to raise money for St Catherine’s. Mum has always told us how helpful and responsive the hospice has been, and we want others to have their help in the future. “It was so special to have Mum at the pub watching us cycling. It’s been an honour to take on this bike ride for her – she’s the strongest, bravest woman we know.” Arron Trott, Fundraiser at St Catherine’s, said, “We’re so grateful to Jodie and Becky for doing this for Lisa but also for other people who need the help of our hospice. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re still not able to run our usual fundraising events, and we’ve had a drop of around £1.5 million in income. The fundraising efforts of people like Jodie and Becky will make sure we can be here for other families in years to come. Their challenge is inspiring, and on behalf of everyone at St Catherine’s, I’d like to thank Jodie and Becky for their wonderful support.”

To support Jodie and Becky and help them to raise even more money for their local hospice please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jodie-fry.

Or perhaps you’re feeling inspired to take on your own challenge? To discover different ways you can support St Catherine’s please visit: www.stch.org.uk/diy or to make a donation visit: www.stch.org.uk/donate or call 01293 447361. Laura Mitchell, St Catherine’s Hospice

Photo: Becky, Mum Lisa and Jodie in front of their static bikes

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