A team of friends and family are running the Wilmslow Half Marathon in March to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a brilliant charity which has been helping 13-year-old Lauren Wild since she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Lauren, who lives with her parents and older brother Sam in Alderley Edge, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in December 2013. She attends Wilmslow High School, enjoys acting and is a keen musician, playing both the flute and piano.
Lauren explains "Running up to December I was tired all the time and I had lost weight, I didn't feel too good and I thought I was anaemic. I got it checked out in November, but the doctors saw no sign of anaemia; I was really confused and scared, as I had convinced myself that this was what was wrong with me.
"After many scans, blood tests and biopsies, my consultant told me that I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma; it was a shock even though I'd suspected it might be cancer after I heard it wasn't Anaemia. I was frightened and upset, I felt so down I struggled with every-day life.
"As soon as I got my Hodgkin Lymphoma diagnosis, I started on Chemotherapy, which at first seemed extremely good, but then the side-effects got me, a lot; everything tasted different and I had pins and needles in my hands, in fact I still do to be honest, even as I'm typing this.
"I recently shaved my hair off, it was falling out a lot, in great big clumps, so I decided to take control and shave it off myself. I have a brown wig that I wear non-stop as I hate seeing the sight of my own bald head; it reminds me of everything that's happened in the past month and I really hate to be reminded of that.
"However, I have now met a few people my age who are suffering with cancer and this has really helped me; I now have many positive thoughts about my future. Personally, I believe the worst is over and I have never been this happy before in my life. I am so lucky to have all my friends and family who are thinking of me and it makes me so happy to know that they're always here for me.
"That's why they've all got together to run The Wilmslow Half Marathon, to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust who are helping me so much."
The Go Wild team who will take part in the Wilmslow Half Marathon on Sunday 23rd March 2014 are all friends and family of Lauren.
Parents Jacqui and Phil Wild will be joined by Kate Pearson, Shelley McGivern, Rita Doegar, Kathy Gardener, Lindsay Lees, Stephen Ridgway, Guy Spilsbury, Mandy Fazelynia and Deborah Worsley.
Mandy Fazelynia explained "It's so hard to know what to do to support a family going through this and so we get together and decided that the best way to turn a negative into a positive and let Lauren know that we are all behind her was to set up a fundraising campaign. The team has some runners and others that have never run in their lives before so it's a big challenge."
Mandy added "We are also hoping to organise a fun run as lots of Lauren's friends would like to get involved in the campaign and this would be a great way for schoolchildren to participate in our efforts.
"This is a great focus for Lauren and we are hoping to raise £10,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital."
Lauren's parents, Jacqui and Phil Wild, said "We would like to thank the team for their fantastic support. We are overwhelmed."
To support the Go Wild for Lauren fundraising campaign you can donate via their Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/Run-For-Lauren.
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