Debbie Wolfe
Debbie's page
Fundraising for Southampton Hospitals Charity
Story
At Southampton Hospitals Charity, we bring people together to raise life-changing funds for University Hospital Southampton – the South Coast’s leading healthcare provider. From specialist services to pioneering research, our incredible supporters enhance care, experience and outcomes for thousands of patients every year. With your help, we can create an impact that lasts for generations - Let’s transform care, together. I would like to add that I am eternally grateful for everything that the Southampton Hospitals have done for my mum, and continue to do,I'm sure she wouldn't be here otherwise. And now also for my Dear Dad. Let's raise some much needed money for this wonderful charity and help make a difference. We just never know what's around the corner.
Supporting the hospital that saved my parent’s lives
Debbie Wolfe, from Eastleigh, is supporting her local hospital cancer
services this September by running the ABP Southampton half
marathon.
In April 2019 my mum, Julie, suffered from a heart attack and was brought to
University Hospital Southampton by ambulance.
They discovered she had a blocked artery so she was taken to theatre to
have a stent put in to open it up and allow for the blood to flow normally again.
Thankfully she recovered, but without doubt the team in Southampton saved
her life.
Less than one year later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after a
routine mammogram.
Mum needed a mastectomy on one breast to remove the cancerous cells, but
then Covid hit, so all non-urgent surgeries were postponed. A few weeks later,
the doctors brought her back in to the hospital to perform day-surgery.
Nurses then visited her at home over the next few weeks to drain and dress
the wound.
She was given the all-clear in May 2020, and needs mammograms every two
years in the Southampton breast screening unit to check for relapses. She
must take drugs daily for the next five years to try and keep the cells at bay,
but for now, she is cancer free.
Fast forward nine months…
My dad, Dave, has never had anything wrong with him - ever. In February
2021 he noticed a swelling on the side of his neck, and mum and I kept telling
him to have it looked at.
He thought it could be a side effect of the Covid-19 vaccine, but then
eventually went to our GP to get checked out.
After a consultation and biopsy tests, he was diagnosed with cancer in March.
They needed to find the primary source for the cancer so he had multiple MRI
and PET scans. In mid-June the cancerous cells in his tonsils and a section of
the base of his tongue were surgically removed.
Due to his age, he can’t have chemotherapy, but starting in August will begin
an intense course of radiotherapy for six weeks.
Personally, I think the hospital and all the staff are just amazing!. The NHS
has been so strained over the last 18 months, and to still see the level of care
that my parents were given, and everyone working so hard in spite of
everything is incredible. Without a doubt, my parents wouldn’t be here without
them.
To say thank you, I am running the Southampton half marathon on 5
September. I started running at the start of the first lockdown as I was
furloughed for five weeks and it give me something to do.
I found it really hard to start, so was just running a few laps around my local
park. After a few weeks I went further from home, and built it up from there!
Now I fit in a couple of 5k runs each week, then a longer run at the weekend. I
am so thankful for my health, and am ready for the challenge.
Help transform cancer services in Southampton today:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-wolfe1
