A NORTH Berwick baker is appealing for support to fund a final family holiday with her terminally ill father following his shock brain cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
Rachael Gillis, from North Berwick, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help fund a stay at Netherurd Garden House so her family can spend precious time together.
Her father Martin, 69, originally from Sunderland and raised in Shropshire, was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma following what was initially believed to be a stroke in February.
Rachael said that the first signs came suddenly and at first a pain felt in Martin's arm when he was helping with some DIY at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church as a dedicated parishioner felt like he had "just pulled a muscle".
His daughter said: “A few days later on February 10, my mum messaged me at half three in the morning saying they were in an ambulance.
“The paramedics thought my dad had had a stroke but it was actually the tumour on the right side of his brain - that was the first sign something wasn’t right.”
She said that the diagnosis came after scans and biopsies in hospital revealed a tumour measuring about two centimetres squared.
Doctors later confirmed that it was too large to operate on and told the family he had about two months to live.
Rachael described the weeks that followed as “an absolute nightmare” with repeated delays to biopsies and constant uncertainty.
Health complications also followed, with Martin developing a chest infection and then pneumonia while awaiting the tests.
Rachael said: “A nurse wouldn’t leave his bedside.
"They genuinely thought we might lose him at that point.”
Martin has recovered from pneumonia but the cancer has taken his mobility on the left side of his body, affecting both his arm and leg, and he now relies on a wheelchair and arm sling for support.
Martin, who met Rachael’s mother while both were nurses in Guernsey, has been married to her for 35 years.
The family describe him as a devoted husband and father who “always went above and beyond”, both in his career and in his voluntary work.
He spent his career caring for others as a nurse for elderly patients and worked with ELCAP supporting people with additional support needs.
They say his strong ties to Our Lady Star of the Sea Church have been a vital source of comfort during his illness, although his helping hand is sorely missed.
Rachael added: “He used to go above and beyond and help with everything at the church, from lighting candles on the altar because they’re so high up and helping his good friend Father [Allan Ocdenaria] through his illness, taking him to hospital appointments.
"He’s just that kind of person - it’s just who he is.”
Rachael has worked in the catering industry for 18 years as a baker, chef and teacher, and is well known as the face of the East Lothian Yacht Club café in North Berwick.
She has also worked in schools across East Lothian and Edinburgh supporting young people, including those with additional support needs.
Now Rachael has become his full-time carer, she said that the impact on her family's everyday life had been significant and that, looking ahead, their focus was on making the rest of their time together as meaningful as possible.
She is hoping to raise enough funds for a short stay at Netherurd Garden House, near West Linton, which is suitable for wheelchair access and equipped with specialist facilities, though additional care and equipment would still need to be arranged.
She said: “It all adds up.
“It’s like the cost of a trip to America and we’re only going down the road, but this would give us the chance to just be together.”
Rachael added that the family had been left “shocked” by the cost and level of additional support required, including care staff, transport adaptations and specialist equipment.
She said: “It’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, but dancing in the rain.
"So I am going to do my best to dance in the rain through this."
Having been made redundant following the closure of the yacht club café to find a new role in the baking world, Rachael is also looking for new opportunities to support her carer and family, with Martin bestowing any surplus from the trip to helping set up a new baking venture.
Anyone wishing to support the family’s fundraiser can find the GoFundMe page.
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