My Story

Hi, I'm Gavin, Tracy's brother.

Tracy sadly passed away on Saturday, 23rd April 2022, only 4 months after being diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer...

... And it will be a year, to the day, St George's Day (23rd April 2023), when I will complete the London Marathon in loving memory of my dear sister, who is so terribly missed, by so many!

Tracy's story is as shocking as it is saddening... She'd undergone major surgery just before Christmas 2021 but then had a really tough time attempting to recover, with multiple setbacks. 

She started chemotherapy at the end of February 2022, and this hit her hard - she struggled so badly. 

After missing 2 cycles due to being so poorly, and being readmitted to hospital, we were told that chemotherapy was no longer an option. She had started Target Therapy but unfortunately became unwell again. 

Then on Easter Sunday, 2022, she was admitted to hospital, by ambulance, with sepsis caused by the cancer. From then, Tracy deteriorated rapidly, too fast for any of us. She fought so hard but it was a battle she couldn't win. 

This left my family completely broken, our hearts and lives shattered. She was 42 years old. Far too young to be taken. 

Our lives will never be the same again. The hole she has left behind is too big. 

I can't describe the pain we experienced then, or are still feeling right now. 

The late Queen Elizabeth II was quoted as saying: "Grief is the price we pay for love" ... And my family, like millions of others, are a sad testament to this painful truth. 

Tracy was one of a kind. She was funny, caring, thoughtful, generous, beautiful inside and out. Her smile would light up a room, and her laugh was infectious.

She was the most amazing Wife, Mum, Daughter, Sister, Auntie and Friend. Everybody loved her! ❤ 

Tracy loved her life. Mark, her husband, and Jack and Phoebe, her children, meant the world to her, and it broke her heart to leave them. She will live on through them, and they will make her proud. ❤

During some of the most challenging moments in Tracy's last months, it was St. Elizabeth Hospice that did so much to help and support my sister. They were there when other organisations had really failed her. 

For this reason, I would like any, and every, penny I raise to go to this wonderful charity because they did make a real difference, and I would love them to do the same for other people suffering this horrendous trauma, and to offer their amazing support to both them and their loved ones.

I am, and Tracy certainly would be, overwhelmed by all the love and kindness being shown by so many of you in helping me to raise funds for a charity, who really supported Tracy in her darkest and most painful hours.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for donating whatever you can. Thank you.

Much love, Gavin and family x