More than £35,000 raised for Ryarsh family who suffered a double blow of cancer and redundancy
14:59, 04 August 2020
updated: 15:17, 04 August 2020
A family has been left devastated after being struck with redundancy and news of incurable cancer in the same week.
The Robinsons, who live in Brooks Drive, Ryarsh, were hit by the double blow when dad Sam lost his job as a marketing manager just days after doctors told wife Lauren she does not have long to live after the disease spread.
Now kind family, friends and strangers are rallying round the couple and their three-year-old daughter Molly with donations to a crowdfunding appeal.
Previously, kind donors have helped the family to tick off 'bucket list' trips to Florida and Australia, to make memories for their daughter, but now money raised will help the 32-year-old father look after Molly once her mother has gone.
Sam, who grew up in Tonbridge and was a pupil at Hugh Christie School, said: "It's not going to change what we are going through, but it can help stop us worrying about the future.
"The first three months were predominantly about making sure we got to have the experiences we would have had over a lifetime of being together.
"Then at the beginning of July I was made redundant and Lauren was getting more symptomatic, and because we have no income or life insurance we decided to give it another push and get some support.
"She is grateful that things are being put in place for me and Molly."
Lauren, 31, was at first diagnosed with breast cancer, but the disease spread and became an incurable secondary cancer attacking her bone marrow.
The former Hillview School pupil was told "don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today" when receiving her latest diagnosis earlier in the summer.
Now she and Sam, who have been married for five years, are busy creating a memory box with little Molly, with pictures and other mementoes of the family's time together.
"I lost my dad when I was 19, and we don't have those things," Sam said.
After using around £15,000 of donations to take trips together, more than £20,000 has now been raised to support the family while Sam is out of work following redundancy from leisure firm Mytime Active.
It is hoped that if more money is raised then Sam will be able to spend even more time with Molly before she starts school.
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