Fundraiser for The Richards Family

My name is Gaynor Davey and along with Lynne Rogers and other friends of the Richards Family, we are raising money to go directly to the family, to assist with day to day finances and the struggles faced by them all.

The Richards have been a socially prominent family in Okehampton, with Nevah (13 yrs) and Marla (15 yrs), living their entire life in the town. Both girls attended all the baby and toddler groups before naturally progressing onto Okehampton Primary school and subsequently Okehampton College. Heather, mother, also worked at Okehampton College for 4 years in the SEND department and forged positive connections with students and their families from the area. Heather was always very passionate about SEND and advocated resolutely for neurodiversity.

Sport and exercise was always going to be a big feature of the girls upbringing, as parents Adam and Heather were actively involved in local sports clubs. Adam coached Tennis at the club for many years voluntarily and took much pleasure in organising club tournaments and summer tennis camps. Heather was an avid member of Okehampton Running Club and supported Rob’s junior running club as both Marla and Nevah were keen participants. Both girls were enthusiastic hockey (Okehampton Hockey Club) and cricket players (Chagford and Hatherleigh Cricket Club) in equal measure, both representing their respective clubs.

Nevah’s early ventures started at Footsteps dance with Miss Mandy and Miss Claire’s pre-primary ballet from the age 4yrs. Nevah was always slightly timid, but on stage her confidence simmered with a beaming smile. Nevah remembers the annual shows and carnivals with fondness. Gymnastics was also another of Nevah’s sporting accomplishments having spent many years attending the school gymnasium of an Friday night with Vicki at OCRA.

Adam and Heather decided to move to Dorset to be closer to family in Sept 2022. After just 4 months, Jan 2023, Nevah started being hampered with fatigue, pain in her pelvis and subsequent pain in her legs. Nevah went to the GP twice, firstly with concerns about hormonal changes and the other signposting the GP to thinking it was a sports related injury. Progressively, over the coming months fatigue was impacting on her day to day activities and the pain in her pelvis became visible. After a trip to Dorchester A&E, further investigations were carried out. It became very clear when Dorchester hospital were liaising with Southampton Paediatric Oncology unit. Nevah became very unwell at a rapid rate and a formal diagnosis couldn’t come quick enough. Nevah was diagnosed with Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma on the 25th May 2023. It is a type of bone cancer, originating from her pelvis and surrounding soft tissue and had travelled to her lungs. Fewer than 30 children are diagnosed in the UK per year. As case studies are so low, allocated resources are limited to understand the exact cause of primary bone cancer and curative treatment plans, hence why progression over the past 30 years has been finite.

The family were quickly thrown into a whirlwind of intense chemotherapy to stabilise Nevah’s condition. The family will be going to London UCLH (Nov/Dec) as Nevah requires specialist Proton Beam Therapy, as surgery to remove the tumour is very complicated.

As soon as Nevah was diagnosed with cancer, all she wanted was a dog, more specifically, a Golden Retriever. By complete coincidence, the amazing Heather Johns (Okehampton) reached out to the family and very kindly donated one of her puppies to Nevah! Heather Johns understands the healing power of dogs and Nevah is now the very proud and happy owner of a gorgeous white golden retriever called Coco! Coco has been with the family for a couple of months, she already brings such adventure, mischief, companionship and so much pleasure.

Nevah’s diagnosis has thrusted us into a cyclone of physical, emotional and financial despair. Nevah’s condition is 1 in a million, which is why we thought it would never happen to us. We are a close family and we will dig deep to support one another emotionally , but it is a time like this that you don’t have the energy to deal with the financial strains of cancer. Which is why we are delighted when Lynne approached us about a fantastic fundraising idea to support us directly.

Okehampton will always be close to our hearts for all the fond and cherished memories, as well as lasting friendships. Although, it feels very isolating right now, we take great strength in all the messages, gifts and donations that have been sent to us, Nevah, and to her ‘go fund me’ page. We are in the process of finalising Nevah’s gofundme page and will be sending off in the region of £7000 to The Christie Charity towards Ewing Sarcoma Research.

Cancer has ripple effects and we know all too well that it evokes strong emotions for all.