Picking up your A-level results is supposed to be a day of celebration and excitement for what’s to come for many, but this wasn’t the case for Georgia Batty-Smith.
On the same day, her mum, Army veteran Jules, collected her own test results revealing her stage two, grade two cancer.
The pair said Jules' devastating cancer diagnosis ‘was not something they could have expected or were even prepared for.’
Georgia said: “As someone who had just turned 18, it was hard to come to terms with as I had to grow up quite quickly.
“My mum has been the only parent in my life. It’s always been me and my mum.”
After her first round of chemotherapy, Jules was left unable to work and has been struggling to pay bills and put food on the table.
The financial struggle has led Georgia, who is a student, to create a fundraiser to help the pair with basic costs.
Georgia praised the strength of her mum, who served in the Army for 18 years.
She said: “There has never been a challenge she hasn’t been able to face.
"I can’t remember a time where she hasn’t been working tirelessly to put me through school and college and support our family.”
The pair found out over Christmas that that Jules’s treatment is set to last until February 2025, with her ‘first round of chemo hitting harder than expected’ resulting in two A&E trips leaving her unable to eat or drink for about 10 days, which led to severe malnutrition and dehydration.
Georgia said: “Because she’s the only bread winner, self-employed, and me being at uni, means she’s lost support emotionally, and financially.
“She’s consistently put other people before herself, and now the time has come where she needs all of our help the most.
“Things have started to develop, and symptoms have progressed, it has gotten to the point where help is needed.”
The mother and daughter live in Stalbridge near Sturminster Newton.
Georgia, who is currently at university in Loughborough and has a student job, has decided to run the Leicestershire Half Marathon on February 25, in support of her mum.
She has set up a GoFundMe page and at the time of writing has raised £9,330 of a £12,000 target which will help cover six months’ worth of bills, utilities, and healthcare, and most importantly, enable her to work less during this period.
You can keep up to date with Jules’s journey via her Instagram page: @jbs_the_big_c
If you would like to donate to the fundraiser search: Half-Marathon to Help Jules fight Cancer on GoFundMe.
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