Please tell your teacher about 'www.meganappeal.com'
Fundraising!
The questions that we have been getting asked recently are for example,
"Is the Appeal still going on?" and "Why haven't you been fundraising for the last few years?"
Well the honest answer to those questions and many similar is quite simply this;-
2005 was a very traumatic year for us;-
The year saw Megan's tumour start to re-grow after no growth for 2 years following radiotherapy. As a consequence Megan underwent major brain surgery in an attempt to remove the tumour. The operation was not successful and Megan lost all sight in her right eye as a result.
Understanding that we needed to start a further course of chemotherapy we sought second opinions from hospitals in this county and in America. As a result of those opinions in July 2005 Megan embarked on what was meant to be a 12 month course of chemotherapy. Later in the year Megan experienced a very severe seizure which require further hospitalisation.
Aside from issues surrounding Megan's health the family also suffered 3 bereavements, the last of which was her paternal Grandfather on the 19th of December 2005 having only suffered the loss of her paternal Grandmother in 2004.
There are 13 page headers,
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2005 was also a very busy year for us;-
Although we had set up Megan's Appeal in 2002 and she had received a small amount of media attention, in 2005 as a result of what was going on with Megan medically the interest in the Appeal from both supporters wanting to help and the media was overwhelming. We threw ourselves into fundraising in any way we could and worked hard on promoting the Appeal to aid that.
Megan and ourselves attended countless events and we sincerely thank everyone who helped us in all the varied ways we were helped.
But, at the end of 2005 we had to make a concious decision to step back from fundraising. We realised that the year had been so traumatic and busy that we had exhausted ourselves and furthermore that we had lost sight of ensuring that we lived our lives for the here and now, concentrating on making every day count, putting a smile on Megan's face and the rest of the family as well.
There have still been people supporting us and donations have still been arriving, again, we are so grateful to everyone who has supported Megan to date!!
Autumn 2008;- We are starting again!
Why now? As we said above, in July 2005 Megan started what was meant to be a 12 month course of chemotherapy. However, remarkably the success of this drug (Vinblastine) was litterally unprecedented with Megan remaining on weekly doses for 3 years, the longest child ever in the world to receive this drug.
Megan has now been off treatment for 3 months and is very well in herself, possibly the best she has ever physically been, which is fantastic to see.
However, the future is still extremely uncertain and we are very aware of the real chance of the cancer re-growing and putting Megan's life back in danger.
We now feel strong enough and that the time is right, now that Megan is off treatment and doing well to re-engage our efforts into fundraising for the exact same reasons we started Megan's Appeal 6 years ago. All money raised will if needed, pay to save Megan's life and provide a quality of life for her for the time she may have with any balance going to help children and their families in similar circumstances.
We need the help and support of as many people as possible! Please help us to possibly pay to save our daughters life!
You may be becoming aware of Megan's plight for the first time reading this website or you may have been previously aware of Megan or indeed even supported us in the past, please think about how you could help us now and going forward!
Why not organise an event! - this could be literally anything, a charity night, disco, karaoke, raffle, car-boot sale, sponsored events such as running, swimming, slimming, head shaving, supermarket bag packs etc.. Anything that can raise possibly much needed funds. Please make us aware of what you are doing and we will try to support, possibly through media coverage, an entry on this website and where practical Megan turning up to support in person.
Tell others! - you may not be able to support us directly yourself but by spreading the news of Megan's plight and her Appeal you will be doing you bit!
Donate - directly to our home address as shown at the top of the Homepage, cheques should be made payable to 'The Megan Armstrong Cancer Appeal', we also accept Postal Orders and naturally we accept cash. Receipts can be provided upon request and all donations with an enclosed return postal address receive a personalised response signed by Megan.
The 2010 Great North Run.
We have had runners participate in the Great North Run each year for the past 5 years. We have decided to play our part and both of us wil be running the 13 mile half marathon in the Autumn of 2010. We are looking for as many volunteers to join us as possible, friends, family and strangers alike. The vision is that we will issue well in advance sponsorship forms and promotional materials to aid the fundraising and then on the day everyone running will be wearing Appeal T-Shirts, emblazened with the webiste details and a big picture of Megan on the back. If you think you can help or know of someone who may be able to help, please get in touch via the contact details on the Homepage. The 2008 run had 52,000 runners, it is a huge event and not everyone who applies to run is accepted. We will publish details here when we have entry details.
THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us and supported us in the past, as well as the finacial help, the support we have received gives us immense strength and comfort!!
Right- Megan with Anne of the Rainbow Trust.
Over the past 6 years we have had fantastic support from the Rainbow Trust and in particular Anne and Jill. We firmly believe that we would'nt have got through this difficult time if it were not for their support.
We owe them so much and Anne and Jill if your reading this, THANK YOU!!!
The Rainbow Trust supports families with terminally-ill children and if you have read this site because you are going through something similar to what we are going through then we would urge you to contact them.
They can be contacted on 0191 386 4400 or visit www.rainbowtrust.org.uk
