Young Limerick cancer victim remembered as her family raises €25,000
A LIMERICK family are taking part in a race to honour the memory of their beloved daughter and sister.
Keeping loved ones' memories alive is the ‘aim of the game’ and what makes the Cook Medical Mini Marathon special for those who take part each year.
The annual event is happening again on October 8 at the University of Limerick, where thousands will gather and raise money for various charities.
The Macauley family from Raheen participate in the race every year in memory of their sister and daughter, Becky, who passed away in 2012.
“We do the race every year in memory of my sister, who was diagnosed with cancer at age nine and who passed away at 11,” said Becky’s sister, Rachel.
“We fundraise for the Regional Paediatric Patient and Family Support Fund, which was set up a number of years ago by doctors and nurses, and we were lucky enough to have at the time when we got the news which changed our world in an instant,” she added.
Becky had been transported to Dublin for emergency brain surgery, to remove a tumour which was found to be cancerous.
The Fund helped with times when the family were “in Limerick hospital one minute” and “up the road to Dublin” the next without, what Rachel says, was “time to even think”.
“To date, we have raised around €25,000 to give back to the Fund which helped us at the time and others in similar circumstances. Ten to 20 Macauley family members take part in the race every year.
“Becky herself took part in the Cook Medical Mini Marathon race before she passed away. She was so helpful and friendly with everyone and was known for it in the school and community, but by the age of nine, her life changed, as well as ours.
“As a family we are still trying to live with the loss and cope with it, but we also want to keep her memory alive in every way we can.”
The title of the race has now changed, dropping the ‘womens’ part and it has moved to an all-inclusive model where all ages, genders and abilities are welcome to take part.
The Macauley’s make a day of the race every year, going to a meal together after the race.
They wear T-shirts with images of Becky on the front and the number 55 on the back, a symbolic number for her.
“On the back of our T-shirts is Becky’s name and the number 55, which represents the amount of stitches she got on her head after brain surgery. Becky was adamant that she would count every stitch that she got, to show how strong she was - so that was the number that stuck with us.”
Becky loved basketball and played with Limerick Celtics Basketball Club. Her sister Rachel said that the club were “very good to Becky” during her recovery periods, and described her as ‘sporty’ and that she ‘loved to have fun’.
When someone in the family falls ill, especially a child or a young person, Rachel said it was “very difficult to understand”, and that explaining it to her young sister was hard but Becky “took it all in her stride”.
“She bounced back so quickly and her determination, as well as her bubbliness, meant that she wanted to race in 2011. She wouldn’t be left out, despite having just gone through treatment - and that shows the person she was,” said Rachel.