Help us help Ela

Hi, we are part of the Kettering branch at ACS Recruitment. We are fundraising to help our colleague Ela achieve some of her bucket list goals. Some of these goals are as simple as going to the Zoo. To do this, as a team, we are walking from Northampton to Market Harborough ... roughly 17 miles. We are hoping to raise enough funds for Ela to enjoy her time between treatments and tick of some of her bucket list goals.

Ela's story,

Ela has suffered for many years from colitis. This June Ela was in Turkey when she started to feel unwell. On her return to the UK, Ela continued feeling unwell with bloating, abdominal pain and cramps. Ela visited A&E and was told she was having a colitis flare and a bowel blockage. Ela was admitted for ten days and was pumped full of steroids to try and control the colitis flare. Ela was sent home with new medication and steroids. However, Ela continued to decline and was re-admitted to the hospital after a week. The decision was made that Ela would undergo surgery for a stoma. Ela's initial scans were reviewed from her FIRST admission, and some abnormalities were noticed. This was when Ela's world stood still! Ela was told she had Cancer in her bowel. The following day Ela was taken for Emergency surgery to remove the cancerous section of the bowel. However, Ela was told the next day that they had successfully fitted the stoma but were unable to remove the tumour and not only was it in her bowel, but she also had ovarian and stomach cancer and that it was inoperable. Ela was struggling with fluid buildup in her abdomen and lungs and had tubes fitted to help alleviate the pain. Two weeks later, Ela was told she had cancerous lung cells. It didn't stop there, though... the tumour had then created a new blockage above the newly fitted stoma, Ela's potassium and sodium levels were all out of sorts, and Ela's abdomen and legs so full of fluid she could barely move. Ela was on morphine drivers and all sorts of medication, but Ela was unaware of so much going on around her. She was hallucinating and in and out of reality. An oncology professor came from Northampton to assess Ela's condition and decided to transfer Ela to his care at NGH. Soon after arriving in NGH, Ela was told she needed an emergency dose of chemotherapy to save her life, or she may not make it the next week... Easy decision right?...Wrong! The chemotherapy could also kill her due to her potassium and sodium levels. Ela was moved to ICU to undergo the initial dose of chemo. The next 48 hours were vital. Ela started becoming more alert, her potassium and sodium levels started to head in the right direction, and the second bowel blockage had cleared. Over the next couple of weeks, Ela showed small signs of progress every day. Ela was able to have tubes and painkillers removed so she could finally eat. Ela slowly became more mobile with support and began building her strength up. Ela has now started her treatment course of Chemotherapy and, after a long 17 weeks in hospital has been allowed home in between treatments; Ela has a long road ahead, and if we can even make a small difference by raising some funds for her to enjoy the time between treatments would be amazing.