Dave Hartley’s daughter Evie was diagnosed with a brain tumour, aged 12. Here, he tells us how the keen cyclist received support from her club, town and wider cycling communities, and how, in turn, she inspired them to achieve incredible things.
Evie was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2021. After bravely accepting the news and the journey ahead of her, her thoughts quickly turned to how she could help other children in similar positions through fundraising. She was also extremely determined to continue enjoying her life’s passion of cycling and one of the first and primary questions she asked of the brilliant team at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre was around whether she could carry on riding her bike! The answer was, thankfully, yes.
Before her diagnosis, cycling helped make lockdown easier for Evie, who spent many hours - and covered over 2,000 miles - on her bike. This deepened her love for the sport, and she was able to stay connected to the region’s cycling community as best as she could through social media and, later, in person, as restrictions lifted. Cycling helped her through the pandemic, and it was destined to become much more important as she faced the even greater challenge of her cancer treatment.
From the first day of her treatment, Evie received an amazing amount of support and encouragement from the senior oncology team, the broader cancer team network, care workers, nurses, friends and family, to keep turning the pedals. In the weeks between high-dose and intensive chemo, Evie showed resilience to keep pedalling through it and as soon as she was able to get up and around, that typically meant climbing on the static indoor cycle and sometimes out and about on the local trails.
During the middle stages of her treatment, one of the necessary and effective chemotherapy types Evie was receiving had side effects which impacted her ability to walk or grip things with her hands. She found this period extremely difficult to accept and come to terms with, as it had a huge impact on the few ‘normal’ elements of life she’d been firmly holding on to. This is the point where cycling really came into play. With one of many amazing acts of kindness we were blessed with during the most challenging of times, the charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC) stepped forward with a new bike that was better suited to Evie’s needs. Working around her disability, she was still able to cycle, which had a phenomenally positive impact on both her physical and mental wellbeing.
Evie is an active member of Ilkeston Cycle Club and very well-known across our 500-plus membership and the wider cycling community. She wanted to do something positive that would help other children in her position by raising funds for CCLG, inspired by its work and its vitally important research into childhood cancers, and in particular, brain tumours. Friends and family close to Evie worked with her on a range of different ideas and fundraising events that revolved around cycling. This involved a campaign called ‘How far for Evie’, where cyclists challenged themselves to ride extraordinarily long distances, beat personal lifetime bests and do some generally epic things on two wheels for the cause.
The charity events snowballed and saw an overwhelming response from the wider cycling world and the local community, with a few doors opened and opportunities presenting themselves, too. This included British team INEOS setting up a one-to-one with cycling legend Geraint Thomas. This was amazing for Evie as he’s so successful and one of her heroes, and she got to ask him for lots of tips and explained some of her cycling dreams to him. INEOS also shared information on what we were doing for CCLG, which went out to all its supporters globally.
BBC Radio Derby also got involved with interviews and fundraising awards, articles were published in the Cycling Weekly magazines and features were broadcast on the regional TV news programmes, all to promote the cycling charity events further.
Evie’s original aim was to raise £1,000 for CCLG, which would have been an amazing achievement in itself. However, we’ve managed to raise an impressive £60,000 including Gift Aid, and our aim now is to reach £100,000! The town and cycling communities have been amazing, and I’m proud to be a part of them. Everyone has got behind us and we can’t thank them enough for their support.
From the first day of her treatment, Evie received an amazing amount of support and encouragement from the senior oncology team network, care workers, nurses, friends and family to keep turning the pedals.
Evie’s focus and determination to keep riding her bike has continued throughout the last 18 months of treatment and as treatment continues still. Her chemotherapy is now less aggressive, and she’s riding more and more, recently winning closed circuit races and finishing third against both girls and boys in a highly competitive race just a few days after treatment.
She also proudly represented the region at the National School Games in September, racing the track, road and circuits in Loughborough for the East Midlands team.
Evie’s passion for cycling and life in general has inspired the local cycling community and helped build long-lasting relationships, as well as open many doors for her despite the challenges she has faced during her cancer treatment. She has recently passed her British Cycling coaching exams and is actively delivering cycling lessons to kids at the cycling club and passing on her skills, knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport and life in general.
We now feel extremely blessed and fortunate to be able to plan a little further ahead, with a successful couple of recent MRI scans. Evie aims to meet up with team INEOS at one of the classic cobbled races in Belgium and a stage or two of the Tour De France as it moves through the Alps in 2023. She plans to both spectate and ride along the same roads and courses as the professionals, which will be a great achievement. These plans are keeping Evie highly motivated and in good spirits as her treatment continues.
From Contact magazine issue 97 - Winter 2022
