One Last Trip! Let's get Ally to Europe

Meet Ally - a beautiful free spirit full of unconditional love and a passion for life like no other.  Adventurous, loyal, strong and real - she says it like it is and we love her for it.  She is 28 years young and living in Cape Town, South Africa.  The youngest of 3 sisters and a part of a large-and-in-charge family, she’s my cousin and (I know I speak for so many people when I say) just one of the best humans to have in your life.
 
I’ll just spit it out - Ally has been diagnosed with stage 4 small round cell sarcoma cancer.  For those of us previously unfamiliar with the monster this form of cancer can be, it’s pretty aggressive and pretty rare - of which Ally has in its most aggressive and most rare form. After months of grueling chemotherapy, the most recent doctor’s visit brought the devastating news: the treatment is not working.  The cancer has grown too big and spread too quickly.  There are no more treatment options and she has a matter of a few precious months left.
 
Anyone who knows Ally is absolutely heartbroken and, like I am, still trying to process the news.  She is so full of dreams and ideas and hopes for what life has to offer.  She’s always there for you and up for an adventure or a laugh or just a good old gossip.  But, in true when-life-gives-you-lemons style, Ally is so grateful for every second she has left, and just wants to live each day to its fullest with the people she loves.  Unfortunately, the people she loves are scattered around the globe and very far away...and we would love to help her achieve her dream of seeing those friends and family in Europe (Portugal and Italy) and the UK.
 
 


The longer version:
Ally has had a rollercoaster-ride of battling health issues from a young age.  At age 13 there was the shocking discovery of a stage 2 brain tumor after experiencing crippling migraines on a daily basis.  She needed the subsequent scary but successful brain surgery to remove it, and suffered from permanent  post-surgical epilepsy.
 
This and everything it came with put a fair amount of mental, emotional and financial strain on herself and her family, but with support for each other and so much love, Ally kept her positive outlook on life.
 
She had big dreams with her feet itching for adventure…

Ally found passion in dance, and after crushing a few jobs in Cape Town for a few years, she finally had the amazing opportunity to work for the IPL (Indian Premier league) as a dancer and choreographer in India.



This completely confirmed her love for travel and inspired a feeling that anything was possible.
 
In 2019 Ally decided to take a job as an English teacher in Vietnam as an awesome opportunity to experience and learn new things, and save some money for the next adventure - Europe was calling her name!  She dreamt of Gelato in Italy, a croissant in France, a christmassy coffee walking through a park in London.


While she was there the Covid pandemic hit, and put her plans on hold.  Patient, she stayed and hoped for things to blow over, like we all did.  As the situation got worse and with schools staying closed, she couldn’t work and had to start living off the small savings she had.
It was during this time in November 2020, after experiencing repeated nausea, extreme fatigue and abdominal pain that a doctor’s visit confirmed a large mass in her liver - she needed to go back home immediately and have it checked out.
 
The pandemic made for a long and expensive trip back home.  
A few specialist visits later (and all of us crossing fingers and toes that the news would be better than bad) confirmed it was cancer.   Stage 4 Small Round Cell Sarcoma that originated in the liver and spread to the lungs.  The treatment plan was a daunting 51 week chemotherapy cycle to remove the mass in her lung and decrease the size in all the masses, eventually allowing for an operation to remove all the growths and cancerous tissues.  Strong and determined as always, Ally agreed to start chemo and prepared for what we all hoped would be, although terrifying, just another battle.


Fun fact -  Ally told me while she was being hooked up for the first time she managed to get the 5 other patients in her ward to sing “Break my Stride” by Matthew Wilder to her. I believe her.

The aggressive chemo hit her hard and fast - I wouldn’t wish this experience on another soul.  Nausea, fatigue, hair loss, muscle loss, weight loss, sepsis, skin lesions, even catching covid were worsened only by the no-visitors rule due to social distancing in the hospital while receiving treatment.  I’m not sure how many ‘virtual hugs’ I sent - but it could never be enough.
 
She was so incredibly strong through all of this.  Through ups and downs, literally fighting for her life, she would talk about how the sun was shining that day, or ask for detailed accounts of all of our boring lockdown lives (still putting everyone else first) and even managed to find new love.



After 5 treatments in 9 weeks, a doctor’s visit on 18 February 2021 brought the heart-stopping news - the chemotherapy treatment is not working.  Chemo is not effectively shrinking the growth in the lung, making it impossible to operate, and leaving her without treatment options.
 

 
OUR GOAL
So here we are today, and where all of you wonderful, beautiful people come in!  Getting Ally to Europe and the UK, as soon as Covid restrictions safely allow, is the ultimate goal - but not the only one.  There are so many things she still wants to and can do!  Even though living with cancer will be tiring and stressful and unpleasant, her last few months don’t have to be.  

I would love to raise as much as possible to help her make the most of the unthinkably short time she has left, without having to worry about money.  
Ally is so happy for any adventures she can still go on, the foods she can still try, the road trips she can still take and each second she has with her family and loved ones to make some amazing memories. 
 
Let’s help this incredible human tick a few things off her bucket list and on the adventures she deserves!
 
To say any donations would be appreciated is an understatement - it would mean the world and we would be so very grateful.
 
Thank you xx










A word from Ally:

"Time is often a thing we value least and as a result, we let time slip by so quickly, unutilized and often taken for granted.  It's surreal to hear the words, "...there is nothing more we can do for you, spend this time the way you want to, LIVE."

At that moment you have thousands of emotions going through you - sadness for the time that has been taken from you, grief for the ones you will leave behind and confusion as to how next to proceed.  I'm asked often if I'm angry at this unfair situation and my simple response is no.  How can I be angry at something that is unchangeable, how can i waste the little time I have left being angry when I have been giving a gift that most will never know.  That is to finally wake up, to wake up to the time we have left and to start really living.

There is so much I have wanted to do in my life, so much I wanted to achieve and check off my bucket list.  How do you start trying to do ALL your bucket list items in a matter of months where people get years or even decades to fulfil their dreams.  I have come to terms that I will not be able to walk the Camino, hike the trails of Machu Pichu or hike Everest, but the one thing I would love to do before I leave is see my family that is scattered around the globe.  To have one final goodbye, cherish one final moment in a beautiful country and live one last adventure."