“My name’s Libby. I am 20 years old and I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkins Lymphoma in April of 2022. I’m in full remission now, so I’m doing really well. But obviously, being told at 18 years old that you have cancer is a feeling that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into words. I was in my first year of university when I got diagnosed. I was studying musical theatre, so I was singing and dancing all day, every day. The change from that to then receiving chemotherapy once every two weeks just flipped my whole life upside down.
The support that I received from everyone in my life, but specifically from Clatterbridge, was incredible. It’s such a beautiful hospital. They just made me feel so at ease and so weirdly, really calm about everything I was going through. The nurses were just angels. They became like family. There was always someone there to talk to.
They always did trips for us and stuff too. We went the Zoo together, we did an escape room and we went for meals. I am in a specific Teenage and Young Adult unit, so everyone there getting treatment was roughly my age, which helped so much. Even if you didn’t really speak to them, you just kind of knew that everyone understood what each one was going through.
Clatterbridge is such a special charity, such a special hospital. And thanks to your help, there is funding for life saving research, as well as investment into technology. There’s so many things that the Clatterbridge charity does.
Currently, they are focusing on an arts programme. I actually remember getting treatment and I got to do a little zoom with someone from the Philharmonic because they have a partnership with Clatterbridge. I got a little xylophone from the communal area and I had a one-to-one music session. It distracted me from the chemotherapy. And before I knew it, an hour had flown by and I was like, oh, my God. It was so much fun.
The Philharmonic also provide live music for the communal areas. They have a wandering musician who, I think when I saw her, had a saxophone and she took requests of people to play songs. There’s also a poetry machine, where staff and patients can get a personalised poem about their journey and what they’ve been through. The arts programme also do an activity pack for people who can’t leave their bed during treatment. Plus there’s a music corner with loads of instruments in i.
It’s an incredible thing that they’re doing, and obviously, with your support, they can get more funding for that and make everything that little bit easier.”
If you would like to get more involved in the charity, you can find out how here.
