Abigail’s Story

One of our top Paris Marathon fundraisers has already raised over £4,000, with still three months to go until race day on 12th April, when she will be joined by 300 Cure Leukaemia runners in the streets of Paris. Abigail-Kate Preece shared her story about her motivations for running the Paris Marathon — her mum.

24-year-old Abigail-Kate Preece hurt her ankle whilst running for her athletics club. The following morning she wasn’t able to walk on it, and at the same time her mum had a pain in her side which she had had for a couple of weeks. So Abigail’s dad decided to take them both to Southport Hospital A&E to check.

“I was seen quite quickly, but she was sent home, and they called mum back. They were doing so many blood tests at Southport, and then they referred her to Whiston Hospital, and it was a couple of days later they said they were 90% sure it was leukaemia.

“The scary part is she had no crazy symptoms. She had maybe a bit more fatigue than usual. She had been on holiday to Cos in Greece and had been more tired than usual but wasn’t thinking much about it.”

Abigail’s mum Katherine was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), an aggressive, fast-growing form of blood cancer. The pain in her left side was believed to be her spleen, which can become enlarged due to the cancerous blood cells. She is now undergoing chemotherapy in the hope she will make a full recovery.

Abigail says: “It’s been a rollercoaster. She’s just about to go for her third round of chemotherapy. When she’s been on the chemo, she has been absolutely exhausted and not herself. She’s lost a crazy amount of weight, and when she has come home, she has been more settled but not really eating.

“Everything in terms of treatment is going as it should be, but it’s something we’ve never experienced, and it’s come out of nowhere. Everybody is dealing with it differently.

“I’ve been trying to stay strong for everyone, but the only thing we can do is be there for her. Being an athlete, I felt it was the only thing I could do to raise money for a brilliant cause.”