Young cancer patient calls on community to join her family at Walk for Wards

A Salisbury girl, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, is calling on the community to join the Stars Appeal’s Walk for Wards and help children like her being treated at Salisbury Hospital.

Lily-Eva Cole was diagnosed with kidney cancer on her birthday in September 2024. The nine-year-old and her family took part in Walk for Wards, the Stars Appeal’s annual sponsored walk at Wilton House, last July.

As Lily-Eva explains: “I knew it was important to raise money for the charity, but I didn't think it would be me needing help from the Stars Appeal.”

“The Stars Appeal is very special, and the work they do to help children is very important. Please help them continue this work and help children like me by joining Walk for Wards and raising as much as you can,” continues Lily-Eva.

During her treatment on Sarum Children’s Ward, Lily-Eva and her family have been supported by the Stars Appeal Play Assistant and have benefited from the additional facilities the charity provides, including play areas, sensory equipment and parents’ accommodation.

She said: “Thanks to Stars Appeal, there is a very special play team here who help keep me busy and distracted from all my treatment. I haven't been able to go to school or see my friends since I was diagnosed with cancer, so the play team are very special to me. They keep me company and always make me smile. They are like my friends.”

Lily-Eva’s family, including her brother Charlie, 11, will be taking part in Walk for Wards on Sunday, July 6th, at Wilton House. He said: “Lily-Eva has been in hospital a lot since she was diagnosed with cancer. It makes me sad when she’s not at home but they have lots of fun things there that we can do together. When Lily-Eva has to have needles or new medicines I go into the teenage room with my dad and play on the Xbox or use the pool table.

"Me and Lily-Eva play together on the play deck when she’s feeling up to it and when she’s not the play team always give us things to do. They always ask if I’m ok. All of those things are there because of the Stars Appeal and they make Lily-Eva being in hospital easier. I want to do Walk for Wards for my sister, for other poorly children and for their brothers and sisters so they can still have fun together.”

Her mum Shannon added: “It’s difficult to express how lucky we are to have the Stars Appeal. Being told your child has cancer is a feeling I can never explain and a feeling nothing can ever take away. However, the support from Stars Appeal has definitely made things easier for not only Lily-Eva but her brother Charlie and the rest of our family too. Thanks to the Stars Appeal we are still able to enjoy time as a family when in hospital.

“Lily-Eva’s dad, brother, nanny, grandad, aunties and uncles will all be walking together for families like us needing help now and for families who need help in the future. The difference the Stars Appeal makes to the lives of families like mine is unexplainable.”

Dr Rowena Staples, who is Lily-Eva’s consultant and an ambassador for the Stars Appeal, Salisbury Hospital’s Charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Lily-Eva and her family for all their brilliant support. The Stars Appeal makes such a difference for my patients and the many other children treated here on the Children’s Unit. We hope to see as many of you as possible at our 20th Walk for Wards on Sunday, July 6th.”

Over 1,400 people have already registered to take part. Participants can walk 3k, 5k, 10k or the new 15k route. Enter for free at www.starsappeal.org/event/walk-for-wards/ or call 01722 429005.