Donna Hadfield was living in South Africa with her wife Steph Berry when she was diagnosed with cancer in her lung, pancreas and liver. The disease has now spread to her brain and abdomen.
Her best friend, Hartlepool businesswoman Sam Lee, has launched a fundraising page on Go Fund Me to help pay for the couple’s flights, visas and insurance. Within days it has raised £8,660.
Sam said: “I don’t like talking in stages as it’s too heartbreaking but time is very short to get her here before she gets any more poorly. I have known Donna for nearly 40 years and she is a fighter and I truly believe once we get her home and into a natural treatment programme, there is a chance she will defy all odds. Together we can get her home. Please keep them in your positive thoughts and prayers.”
Steph has written a special song – “All Those Hands” which can be heard on the fundraising page – thanking people for their messages, prayers and kindness.
She said: “Donna and I have called South Africa home for nearly nine years, and we have built a wonderful life here. But England (and especially Hartlepool) has always remained home in a very important sense. It is where Donna’s family is, where her Mam is, and where so many of the people she loves are waiting for her.”
Steph went on: “The money raised will first help us pay for our flights back to the UK. Beyond that, Donna wants to look into alternative treatments – as Sam said, Donna has a habit of pushing the boundaries. She wants to use whatever time she has left to make lasting memories with the people who mean the most to her. She wants a day out in Durham with her Mam, to sit with her family and friends and moan/laugh about life, to eat some proper English food, and to simply be home.”
She added: “Every donation, however big or small, helps us get one step closer to England and to the people Donna loves. And honestly, if you’ve ever loved someone enough to understand what ‘I just want to get her home’ means, you’ll understand why we’re asking. Thank you. From both of us. ❤️”
Anyone wishing to help bring Donna home can make their donation here – https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-donna-home-ub578
