Help Katie raise money

This race is personal.

My mum was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2021.

She had her first surgery in January 2022 — right around Violet’s first birthday.

I was newly postpartum, trying to figure out motherhood, hormones, sleep deprivation… and then this news rocked our world.

There were signs.

We knew something wasn’t right.

Mum looked sick. She didn’t look strong. Her hair was thinning. She had no energy. She just wasn’t herself.

We were so grateful when her surgery went well.

Slowly, she got her energy back. Her hair started growing again. She could keep up with a busy one-year-old grandchild.

And then her one-year checkup came.

The cancer was back.

Detected along the incision line.

She needed a second surgery in February 2023.

This one was harder. More complicated. Recovery hasn’t been smooth. She’s still dealing with an incision that never properly healed and now faces another surgery to repair the damage.

This is what people don’t always see.

Cancer isn’t one moment. It’s a journey. It’s appointments, waiting rooms, scans, complications, fear, and resilience.

I often find myself wondering — what if she had gone earlier? What if she had pushed for testing sooner? Would things have been simpler? Would she have avoided extra surgeries?

But then I think about the people who don’t get checked at all.

That’s why this race matters.

Colon cancer is one of the most preventable cancers when caught early. Screening saves lives.

So on May 24th, Violet will be running the Little Bums 500m, and I’ll be running the 5K Bumrun.

We’re running for my mum.

We’re running for early detection.

We’re running so fewer families walk this road.

If you’d like to support, I’ve linked my fundraising page below.

If donating isn’t possible, please — talk to someone about screening.

Early detection changes everything. 💙