Mohammed Dhilwar Hussain

I'm taking on the Cycle 300km for Young Lives vs Cancer.

When our daughter became seriously ill, by gods grace my wife and I didn’t need financial support, not from charities, not from anyone. We managed on our own. But it was still the hardest year and a half of our lives.

We spent six months in hospital lockdown, then nearly a year in isolation at home. That level of pressure and uncertainty is impossible to describe unless you’ve lived through it. During that time, Young Lives Matter were one of the only outside connections we had. One of their reps would check in just to talk. It might seem like a small thing, but when you’re living in hospital corridors, surrounded by worry, it makes a world of difference. They gave us space to breathe. They were there for us, and they helped take pressure off NHS teams who simply didn’t have the capacity to offer that kind of emotional support.

We were lucky that we didn’t need financial help. But many people do.

When your child is seriously unwell, life stops, but the costs keep coming. The water company will want their money. The council will want their council tax. The mortgage company won’t give you a break. And your employer will quickly stop your salary.

Most people can’t rely on a safety net. Insurance policies often wriggle out on technicalities. And if you have over £16,000 in assets, the government expects you to use that before offering help, even if it’s tied up in savings or property. It’s brutal. You’re forced to choose between being there for your child and protecting everything you’ve worked so hard for.

Young Lives Matter is there when no one else is. They step in with practical, emotional and financial support.

If you’re able to, please donate. You’ll be helping people stay strong through the worst moments of their lives, and giving them a fighting chance when everything else is slipping away.

• £15 could go towards a grant to cover travel costs for long journeys to live saving treatment 
• £26 could pay for an hour with a Young Lives vs Cancer Specialist Social Worker. They help families understand and cope with the emotional, practical and financial effects of cancer. 
• £70 could pay for a night in a Young Lives vs Cancer Homes from Home, a free place for families to stay close to specialist hospitals when their child is going through treatment, keeping families together.