Spa teenager Bethany’s birthday fete for cancer charity

Spa teenager Bethany’s birthday fete for cancer charity

19 October 2016

NINETEEN year-old Bethany Courtney is looking forward to a birthday celebration with a big difference this weekend. 

On Saturday the teenager from Spa, near Ballynahinch, will be marking the first anniversary of a bone marrow transplant, which helped her fight off two rare forms of bone marrow cancer.

To celebrate her year of recovery, Bethany is inviting everyone to her ‘BMT Birthday Fete,’ which takes place in Edengrove Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch, from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

The family fun day will also raise funds for Cancer Fund for Children, the local charity who supported her and her family throughout her cancer journey.

Explaining why they decided to give something back, Bethany’s mum, Ros said: “Bethany was diagnosed with two rare forms of bone marrow cancer in August 2013, and at that time we were at an all-time low and did not know where to turn to for advice or support.

“Through the social work team in Belfast City Hospital, we found out about Cancer Fund for Children. Our support worker, Lynn, got in touch to explain the variety offer of support they could offer for all the family.”

Mrs Courtney said the family were able to avail of Travel for Treatment grants, which helped ease the financial cost of travelling to Leeds for specialised treatment for Bethany. 

She continued: “We also enjoyed therapeutic shorts breaks at their Daisy Lodge facility in Newcastle. These breaks allowed us to spend precious time together as a family, and were somewhere we could leave behind the stresses and heartache of living with a cancer diagnosis.

“Cancer Fund for Children also made sure they provided tailored individual support for the whole family. 

“Bethany attended residentials with other diagnosed young people at their Narnia Log Cabin. She was able to share her feelings and worries with other young people who were going through the same thing, which helped reduce the isolation she had felt during treatment. She was able to open up and make many new friends she could go to for support, even after the residentials were over.”

Mrs Courtney said Bethany’s sister, Jenny, attended sibling weekends, which gave her a safe space to share her own concerns and feelings.

“I attended mums’ residentials too, which helped me to build network of mums I could go to for support and advice.

“Cancer Fund for Children’s support was completely invaluable to us as a family throughout Bethany’s treatment. Thankfully Bethany is in recovery now but we will never forget the difference they made to us.

“This fundraiser is our way of thanking them for their support and raising funds so that families who may need their support in the future can benefit from it.”

At Saturday’s fete there will be activities for all the family, including a bouncy castle, archery, climbing wall, craft activities, the appearance of superhero and princess characters and a Halloween fancy dress competition, as well as beauty treatments for mums — and dads — and much, much more.

Food and refreshments will be served throughout the day. The event is free of charge, but donations for each activity and food items will be kindly accepted.

To find out more, call Cancer Fund for Children on 028 9089 5599.