'Nobody deserves this' -- fundraising appeal for Louth mum, 28, with terminal cancer
A heartfelt fundraising appeal has been set up to help a cancer-hit mum from Louth who has been told she has only two to three years to live.
Kerry Johnson, who works as a childminder, is just 28. But her world was thrown into turmoil only six days after the birth of her daughter, Evelyn, in May 2023.
Kerry was rushed into hospital, where doctors told her she had contracted a severe bout of sepsis thanks to a cancerous tumour that had ruptured her bowel.
After months of intensive treatment and a brief respite, the metastatic colorectal cancer has now spread to her pelvis and liver, and Kerry has been given the devastating news about her life expectancy.
So, stunned sister-in-law Katie Johnson has launched the appeal on the GoFundMe website to support Kerry, her husband Jamie and two-year-old Evelyn.
"This has come as a complete shock and has flipped their lives upside down completely,” says Katie.
"Nobody deserves to lose their mum or partner like this, so your kind donations will help the family have an incredibly special time with the years they have left together.”
All the money raised will go towards supporting the family, including possible private treatment at a specialist clinic in London. At the time of writing, 60 donations had already been made, and £2,550 had been raised.
On the Go FundMe page, Katie takes up the full harrowing story from the beginning. She writes:
"Kerry is a loving wife, mother, sister and friend, and a source of strength for everyone around her.
"She met Jamie in July 2016 and they went on to get married in their home town of Louth six years later.
"They enjoyed their honeymoon in Italy as newlyweds and later found out they had conceived their beautiful baby daughter.
"Life for them was full of joy, and it felt as though nothing could take that away from them -- until Kerry was admitted to hospital with sepsis and doctors feared she wouldn’t make it through.”
The sepsis had stemmed from the cancerous tumour and, worse, her bowel could not be operated on. This resulted in Kerry being given a stoma just days after her daughter had been born. She then spent the next nine months undergoing regular chemotherapy and radiotherapy to fight the bowel cancer.
Katie goes on: “In February 2024, after a successful course of chemo, doctors told Kerry that the tumour was now small enough for her to undergo a surgical procedure to remove it.
"Surgeons in the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby were delighted to inform her that the surgery went well.
"Shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with stage three kidney failure, but received treatment and was given the all-clear from the doctors.
"Finally, it was starting to look as if Kerry, Jamie and Evelyn could be the worry-free, happy family they’d always dreamed of.
"And in August 2024, she announced that she was cancer-free. Joy spread as the wider family celebrated this great news, and the sheer excitement of a life without cancer consumed Kerry.”
Sadly, it proved to be a false dawn. Six months later, on a fateful February day, when Kerry received a scan, hoping for the stoma to be reversed, she was told that the cancer had been found again in her pelvis and had spread.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the family, especially Katie, who stepped into action to launch the fundraising appeal.
She continues: “Kerry will likely have to give up her job due to the effects chemotherapy will have on her. So any funds raised from this appeal will go to helping support her family to be there by her side without the worry of where money will come from.
“While doctors have given her two-to-three years’ life expectancy, that won’t stop Kerry from looking at options.
"She is going to receive palliative chemotherapy under the NHS and, within six months, doctors will know if it is having an effect on the tumour.
"At that point, she could be given the option to have surgery but with no guarantees. As it stands, Kerry cannot be operated on.
"Regardless, the family are looking at going private at a clinic in London with a specialist called Jamie Murphy whose expertise is on her form of cancer.
"Initial consultation fees for his clinic are £300. Jamie offers a greater number of treatment options and offers hope for Kerry.
“Any funds raised will go directly to Kerry so she can explore potentially life-prolonging treatment within the private healthcare sector while also allowing her to support her family and allow them to live the happiest of their days left with their wife and mother.
"Some of the money will be used for Jamie and Kerry to make lasting memories with Evelyn.”
Donations can be made by visiting the appeal page here.