Alice and her mum wearing reindeer antlers

Alice’s Story

Alice is described by her parents Denise and Bernard as a fun, bubbly and lively girl. A primary school teacher who was dedicated to her job when, in March 2022, at just 32, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer after finding a lump.

“She had five months of treatment, and she had to stop teaching, which she was so upset about because she loved her job and the children she taught. But Alice was a force of nature, and she hit it head-on. She liked a party and was very sociable but cut everything out to focus on this. She was obviously scared, but she was so brave and optimistic.

Following her chemotherapy, Alice had a Mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. The operation went well but Alice was struggling with pain in her back.

“She was in so much pain, the consultant sent her for an MRI and CT scan but they both came back clear. Then, at the end of November, she lost sight in her right eye, so we took her to A&E with all her notes.

After two weeks, tests confirmed the cancer had spread to her spinal fluid and “gone off like a firework”. Alice was given just days to live.

“We would have loved to have taken her home but with the amount of pain she was in, we wouldn’t have been able to cope.

“Coming into Fair Havens, it was like a hotel! It was calm and peaceful. A nurse came out to meet us in the ambulance, introduced herself and welcomed us in. Immediately, your shoulders drop, and there’s a relief that there’s someone there for you. You instantly know they’re going to look after you.”

“They’d written ‘Welcome Alice’ on the board in her room and got her set up in her room. They took care of all of us, not just Alice.”

“We lived at Fair Havens during that time, tag-teaming day and night. Alice was desperate for a shower, and they managed to use the hoist in the room to give her a shower, as her room had an en-suite, which we would never have been able to do at home.”

“Christmas was Alice’s favourite time of year, so they made sure to make Christmas Day special for us. Alice (and us!) were given presents by the nurses in the morning. Alice asked if her niece could come in to open the presents Alice had bought her – of course, they said yes. The staff made all of us a Christmas dinner, which we ate together in Alice’s room while wearing antlers.”

“Alice had said to one of the nurses, don’t tell me anything about my condition today. She wanted to enjoy Christmas for what we knew would be the last time.

“Her favourite Christmas film was Love Actually, and she was all set up in the evening to watch it on the TV in her room. We had all the snacks lined up, just like we would any other Christmas. But unfortunately, that night, she had a big seizure. It was like she had saved all her energy for Christmas Day, which had taken it out of her.”

Alice died at Fair Havens on 10th January 2023.

“For Alice what was important was the freedom which Fair Havens gave her. She was able to have her friends come in and visit her on the days when she was lucid. Apart from the cancer she was a young, fit and healthy girl and I think that was why her heart went on longer than perhaps we thought it would.

“Without Alice everything is different. You never move on but you move forward and we’re just so grateful Fair Havens was there for us all. The only thing they couldn’t do for her was make her better.”

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Published in 2024 

“Without Alice everything is different. You never move on but you move forward and we’re just so grateful Fair Havens was there for us all. The only thing they couldn’t do for her was make her better.”

Denise and Bernard, Alice's parents