A 32-year-old autistic woman from Ipswich has hosted a Macmillan coffee morning in memory of her mother, who died of cancer two years ago.
Kirsty Thompson, who has mild learning difficulties and suffers from anxiety, laid on the event at Vital Healthcare’s headquarters in Grimwade Street, Ipswich, baking most of the cakes and treats herself.
Her mum Lynn Thompson died in 2014 following a two year battle with cancer of the oesophagus.
“It has gone really well,” said Kirsty, “we’ve had lots of people come in and I think we’ve raised quite a lot of money.
“I made most of it myself but my boyfriend made all the sandwiches.
“We’ve had people coming in, having a chat and a cup of coffee and raising money for a good cause.”
Kirsty’s event is part of Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, the charity’s largest fundraising event of the year.
The event raised £115.09.
“Two years ago my mum died of cancer so I wanted to hold a coffee morning in her memory,” said Kirsty.
“My mum was diagnosed with cancer in February 2012.
“She had chemotherapy, major surgery and radio therapy and it went into remission for a year.
“In August 2013 it come back and it got complicated, she had more radiotherapy and was in and out of hospital a lot.
“Then she got pneumonia and didn’t get better from it.”
Kirsty has been supported by Vital Healthcare since her mum went into hospital and now lives in its supported living accommodation in Bramford Road.
“Vital Healthcare have given me support and everything,” said Kirsty.
“Macmillan also helped my mum financially when she needed a new mattress and new clothes.
“They had a centre at the hospital which provides you with information and what you need to know.”
Faha Makhdum, psychotherapist and clinic manager at Vital Healthcare, said the team were very proud of Kirsty.
“Kirsty is a prime example of someone who has a lot of challenging needs and has gone through some very difficult times but has taken the support we have offered and has come so far.
“We are so proud with how well she has done. She did this coffee morning without any extra stress or anxiety despite the hurdles of event management.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here