W
L
MY SUPERHERO SON!
Claire Carrick, 36, from Congleton, was devastated when her
son Noah developed terminal cancer.
But Claire and her husband Keith, 50, knew they had one chance
at making the last few months of his life as fun and memorable as
possible. That’s where Claire House Children’s Hospice stepped in.
“Coming to Claire House was just one huge treat for Noah. From
pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to watching Disney films in bed all
day, the staff went the extra mile to make sure Keith and I enjoyed
the few precious months we had left with him.”
After first being diagnosed with cancer aged just 16 months, Noah
had relapsed for a third time, and knowing the prognosis wasn’t
good, his parents had chosen to spare him the ordeal of more
chemotherapy.
Instead, their aim was to support their loving, sociable little boy as
he tried to live his life to the full. Claire House very quickly became
a vital element of that plan.
The situation the couple found themselves in was a world away
from the one they anticipated when they fell pregnant with Noah
in September 2012, a year after they got married. The couple were
over the moon.
“From the moment Noah was born, we were both besotted. I would
spend hours cuddling him, marvelling at his tiny fingers and toes
and imagining the exciting future he would have.”
But at six months old Noah developed a lump underneath a
strawberry mark on his back, and by the time he was one it had
grown to the size of a potato.
Scans revealed Noah has Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer, a rare cancer
of the soft tissue affecting just 60 children a year in the UK. What
followed over the next two years was a whirlwind of remission
and relapses – “Noah wore a superhero outfit for every chemo
treatment he had” his mum explains.
14 wirrallife.com
“Despite the cancer, we tried to create a happy and normal homelife
for our boisterous little boy and for the most part we succeeded.
Noah even managed to achieve a key milestone – starting school -
which was very emotional for us all.”
But by January 2018, the cancer, which was now in his brain, had
spread so aggressively that his parents decided to stop any further
treatment. It was at that point that they were introduced to Claire
House.
Claire explains; “The first day we visited Claire House, I felt as
though my heart would break, but the team were incredible. They
invited a policeman to visit Noah in a police van, arranged for him
to go swimming and made handprints and footprints with him.
They helped us to make lovely memories out of the worst possible
scenario.
While the entire situation was new to us, the team knew what to
expect, so they tried to prepare us for what was to come. They
also took over Noah’s medication, which meant I could just enjoy
spending time with him.”
Noah passed away in March 2018. He was four and a half years old.
For Claire and Keith, there’s no question that Claire House helped
them make the most of their last special moments with their son.
“I thought going to the hospice would be scary” Claire admits. “But
for Keith and I, it was a haven of warmth and understanding.
“As for Noah, he saw it as a place filled with fun, superheroes and
the most delicious pancakes.”
For every family like the Carricks, there is another that struggles
on without the help they so desperately need. Please act now.
Donate today at clairehouse.org.uk/campaign or call 0151 343
0883 to find out more.