Please help raise and replace Dani’s puppy for a puppy!

Danielle Vaughan is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Danielle Vaughan.

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Hello there for those of you that do not already know me my name is Jan Comperat and I would firstly like to tell you a little about myself and what has led me to wanting to help Dani Vaughan.

I was born and raised in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. And as many of you know me you will also know that a lot of what makes me happy is helping others, doing fundraising events and putting a great big smile on the faces of those desperately needing it. . Being able to raise money for multiple charities in the past has kept me going through a lot of my own personal problems and for those of you that do not know this being mainly suffering from 2 brain tumours and various other conditions caused from those tumours. I was lucky enough to have amazing support through all of this from amazing friends and a wonderful loving family.

Unfortunately my fundraising days have gone very quiet as of late due to many personal tragedies. Throughout my fundraising days my biggest champions were always my mother and my beautiful Sister! Unfortunately my sister passed away 2 years ago last may 2022 , her name was Amanda and she was just 46 years old! My sister was my absolute world and there was nothing in this world we would not try and do for each other and I can honestly say since I have lost her I have been truly lost too.. Breast Cancer holds no prisoners and can touch anyone’s lives and believe you me we were all shocked to the core when Amanda received that devastating news. But as a family we did what we always do and wrapped our loving arms around each other especially Amanda and was there every step of the way!

Sadly after loosing Amanda my love for life and everyone in it completely diminished and I feel totally sad saying so because I have always been such a people lover and not having that love for life or wanting to help those that need it kind of destroyed the soul even further but hey that’s GRIEF! Grief is yet another subject us brits can find incredibly difficult to talk about but it’s a part of life and makes us who we are and more importantly we may not know it at the time but growth also comes from grief and loosing my beautiful sister taught me so very much. Life will never be the same for me but the point is she wanted to live and gave everything to life when she was here even before she was ever ill she was know as being the very life and soul of every party! Amanda’s spirit in life is something I like to try and hold onto and remember what she always told me “You got this sis!”

Now I want to tell u about why we are here!

As I have told you earlier I’m Abergavenny born and bred well I also went to King Henry VIII comprehensive and whilst I was there I was lucky enough to be put in the same form for 5 years as a beautiful young lady on the inside as well as the outside called Danielle Williams now married as Vaughan! Both myself and Dani have always remained friends over the years, never very close where we would go out together when we were older but we did hang around when in KHS. I don’t think there would be anyone you could ask that wouldn’t say Dani is a wonderful person! She’s kind, considerate, loving and very patient.

The very fact that Dani ended up working with children with additional needs says a lot about her character and nature. She has always adored what she does and has always been wonderful at it.

Dani met Paul and started dating 17 years ago and Paul not only became a wonderful husband of 15 years but a superdad too to 4 gorgeous children 1 boy and 3 girls the youngest being just 6 years old. These guys truly are a wonderful little family and this is what makes my next part of the story that much harder and more emotional to write for you all.

Back during July 2021 when everything was difficult for just about everyone worldwide because it was the time of Covid 19! I was preparing to get myself ready to go into Cardiff hospital to have my second brain tumour removed when I saw a post on Facebook by Dani saying she had found a lump! If Covid wasn’t hard enough Dani’s world just got blown wide open. Dani being Dani felt as though keeping her journey documented on Facebook was important to other ladies going through this unfortunate and difficult journey and quite right too. This journey of course turned out to be breast Cancer and Dani was just 43 years old. Naturally hearing the C word is your worst nightmare and you would think everything would fall apart not for Dan she was an absolute warrior and although having to face all the tests, treatments, lumpectomy and eventually radiotherapy and all of this alone because of Covid she still managed to keep her chin up and kicked that cancer right up the backside and she did so with that same beautiful smile on her face she always has.

Dani in the 3 years since living with cancer then going into remission has been good, as Dan says “you see life through different eyes after going through something like that and u learn to appreciate absolutely everything in it and one of the things that got me through all of that journey was my little Dachshund Ronnie, he’s my little best friend. I couldn’t have done it without him he’s like therapy he really is!”

Fast forward to the present time and(3 years later)the very reason for me writing all of this.

Well I am so devastated to say that unfortunately Dani felt another lump in the same area as the last and where they did the lumpectomy and all that radiotherapy, denial or maybe some wishful thinking set in and Dani thought to herself “ahh it’s nothing , or perhaps some scaring I have my annual mammogram coming up anyway I will hang on for that!” Much to her and the family’s horror it was their worst nightmare come true it was Cancer AGAIN! But strangely and so absolutely gutting to the core this wasn’t a reoccurring breast cancer it was a completely new faster growing more aggressive type of cancer and by the time she had been pulled around with the scans, biopsies and blood tests etc it was decided that her only real option moving forward was 6 months of chemotherapy first then a mastectomy possibly 2 that hasn’t been fully decided yet.

I asked Dani how this truly makes her feel. In Dani’s words “I feel cheated! I fought it once, why again? Why me? I just started a new job which I just had to put on hold! I love my work and was so looking forward to it. My youngest daughter is struggling to understand and wrote me a letter from her and her friends saying how sorry she was I had cancer again and how she will look after me. This not only warms my heart but breaks it too, I want to protect her and them all from all of this but know I cannot! Chemotherapy is horrible I hate it, it’s making me sick but I will not stop fighting, EVER! I want my life back! I’m a good person, I may not be perfect nobody is but I would like to think nobody deserves this? I choose to fight for my family, my friends but most importantly for myself”

I asked Dani to open up and be completely honest with how she was feeling, I think we can get a good feeling for that what do u think?

Dani has also approached this journey with dignity but a lot of humour too and turns a lot of it into jokes when we talk. I do the same when talking about my own poor health and sometimes that’s the only way I know how to get through my darkest of days. We have been on these journeys together and the crazy thing now is on the 25th October I am having a full hysterectomy, I have decided if Dani can be open and honest about her illness and hold nothing back then neither should I!

So! Me being me I don’t do things by half’s during my recovery whilst bored out of my mind I’ve decided to do a documented sponsored silence !! Now, for those of you that are thinking eh??? Is that it?!! Let me explain (and for those that know me I simply do not need to they know how hard for me this will be ) some people run marathons for charity, some people climb Kilimanjaro but for me doing a sponsored silence for 24hrs is like climbing Kilimanjaro . This girl can talk, nicknamed little miss chatterbox and took up being a hairdresser for a living so take away my voice and I’m pretty lost. I told my family I was going to do this and all of their first response was “And you think you will manage to do it??” They have no doubt I can raise the funds because they have no doubt in you wonderful lot but the idea of me silent for that long is apparently hilarious . So I take up the challenge. And what are we raising the money for I hear you all ask because the title “Please help and replace Dani’s puppy for a puppy!” ?

Dani quite innocently put up a post on Facebook a few nights ago asking if anyone wanted to help her buy a little dachshund puppy! She wasn’t being serious in asking for charity but she was being serious about the puppy she really wants one and I could really see that so it got my curious little brain thinking and gave me the massive kick up the backside I also needed and sent her a message asking if she was serious about wanting one of these little pups and if so what I had intended on doing to help raise the funds.

Dani’s first response was “oh my goodness you would do that for me Jan, I am completely overwhelmed and don’t know what to say” and she could not stop laughing at the idea of a sponsored silence. She then had another little think and sent me another message saying

“Jan do you think people will think I’m being completely selfish having money raised for a puppy though”

My response to her told her that there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that anyone in their right minds would begrudge a 45 year old kind, wonderful and caring woman of the donations to get herself a beautiful little puppy to replace the one she’s having removed (sorry to those that are offended by the humour this is how Dani chooses to cope with loosing her breast) Humour is so important in all walks of life and if you can learn how to laugh at yourself especially at the hardest moments in life then you really stand a chance at making it through.And Dani certainly chooses to make it through.

I would also like to explain why I want to do this for Dani so badly. Firstly I am a massive animal lover and especially love dogs and have 4 of my own. And the reasons I have also told the story of my health to you all is so I can explain just how much I personally know the importance a furry four legged friend can have on the mental health and recovery during such a journey and long battle. My battle of tumours had a span over 20 years so I know only too well how much a cuddle from your little friend means. I really don’t think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for my dogs so I fully appreciate why Danielle is craving a new little pup.

Dani already has one Dachshund named Ronnie as I mentioned earlier and she also thinks that throughout her treatment a new little friend would be good for him.

I also have another reason for stepping up when I saw her post on Facebook! I thought about her children especially her youngest daughter and everything they are going through right now and all the happiness a new life could bring to their family. It would give them some responsibility and with that help them feel like they are helping their Mam along the way through this journey.

A new little life would give them ALL something positive to focus on, look forward to, take for walks and play with. They can take the reins when or if Dani isn’t feeling up to it which will give them something even more to feel helpful for and at the moment that is especially what Dani’s youngest is wanting because she wrote it in a card bless her heart.

So all I want to do is help a family just have something to smile about, to be able to get up in the morning and the first thing to have to think about is cleaning up little puddles on the floor instead of thinking about how much longer until the next chemo treatment or when to pop the next pill ??

So thank you all for reading my very long story this girl is worth the read 100% she’s one special girl and certainly doesn’t deserve what she is going through. Nobody does. And my thoughts go out to anyone suffering with any illness especially Cancer right now, keep your chin up and keep fighting and more importantly keep laughing as laughter really is the greatest medicine of all. I really believe that.

PLEASE HELP US ACHIEVE THE TARGET OF £1200 puppies are not cheap these days also I would love to make sure the vet bills are covered is possible. As I have said this little dog in my opinion is for therapy and well-being and much needed for both Dani and the family to heal and have something to look forward to and get up for everyday. A puppy brings excitement and joy, please help me deliver this to a wonderful family that unfortunately cannot afford to buy themselves. Please help me deliver this precious little bundle of joy and excitement to a household under a lot of pressure and difficulty right now. These guys deserve a little happiness and I must 100% point out Dani was blown away and totally shocked when I went to her with my idea, she was not expecting it and takes nothing for granted. She is very grateful for everything. She is completely overwhelmed that 1 person would want to do this let alone a load more I know will want to donate. I know it’s not about what the money is for it’s about who it is for and what it represents and what difficulties this family is going through. Unfortunately so many of us go through these tough times and if I had my way I would have a page like this for everyone that needed it but sadly we cannot help everyone but today I can help you Dani my old School friend and friend for life so please all I ask is you accept this gift of us all wanting to help you because you are loved and you are worth it. All you need to do is keep on fighting, smiling and of course laughing. ;-)

I will do the sponsored silence over a 24hr period.

I will commence at 10am Sunday 3rd November 2024 and end the silence at 10am Monday 4th November 2024.

flashcards and a small video diary will be made and posted via Facebook. Goodness knows what kind of condition I will be in as a warning up front hahahaha because this will be 9 days after my surgery. Please be forgiving and very kind as I will be then newly menopausal with only a pen and paper to communicate hahaha!!!

THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO READ ALL OF THIS BECAUSE MY GOODNESS I KNOW ITS SOME READ! LOL IT MEANS THE ABSOLUTE WORLD TO A SPECIAL FAMILY AND TO MYSELF ALSO BECAUSE AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING I NEEDED A KICK UP THE BOTTOM GETTING ME BACK DOING WHAT I LOVE THE MOST AND THATS HELPING WHERE I CAN OR

ASKING OTHERS TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHERE WE CAN. IT REALLY IS A GROUP EFFORT AND FOR THAT IM VERY THANKFUL IN ADVANCE. I AM ALWAYS BLOWN AWAY BY OUR COMMUNITY’S GENEROSITY EVEN AT A TIME