A single mum with terminal cancer has asked her best friend to make the ultimate commitment and care for her 11-year-old daughter when she dies. Hayley Morse and Claire Way first met while working in the Co-op together, with the two mums becoming close pals and remaining so for 25 years.
However, Hayley's life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 42-year-old was told that her disease was incurable, and her biggest concern centred on what would happen to her only child, Lucy.
The youngster's father isn't part of her life, and Hayley's mum tragically died from the same cancer just months before, the Mirror reports. Wanting to make sure that Lucy had a say in the situation, the 42-year-old asked her daughter who she would want to live with when she passed away.
Hayley said: “I just wanted Lucy to feel she was part of the decision. She has lost her nan, she is going to lose me, and I wouldn’t want her to live with someone she’d not be happy with.”
Lucy, who had grown up witnessing the incredible bond between her mum and Claire, didn't have to think twice. “She immediately said Claire,” says Hayley.
Claire, 46, a single mum herself with a 16-year-old daughter Grace, had become like an auntie to Lucy.
When Hayley spoke to Claire, she knew that the decision was not to be taken lightly. “When I asked her I knew she’d need to think about it, as it is such a huge commitment.”
But for Claire, the answer was simple. “I was thrilled when she agreed,” Hayley says.
“There is nothing more heartbreaking than knowing I won’t live to see Lucy get married or have kids. But I can’t think of anyone better to bring Lucy up and I know Claire will treat her like her own.”
Claire, a trainee teaching assistant, said: “I have always treated Lucy exactly the same as my daughter Grace and I know if the boot was on the other foot Hayley would do the same for me.
"I couldn’t even begin to put myself in the situation Hayley is in. For them to even ask me was a big thing.
“After looking into everything that had to be done officially, the impact on my life and my daughter’s, we decided to go ahead. I knew it was the right thing to do. Lucy and Grace are already so close, it just made sense.
“What is happening to Hayley is so awful. This is the least I can do. It is just nice knowing I can help them.”
Hayley was given the heartbreaking news that she had breast cancer in 2017 - just a few months after her mum Mandy was given the same diagnosis on Christmas 2016. She felt a lump while showering and, having just witnessed what her mum had just gone through, knew she needed to get it checked.
“In all honesty, I don’t think I’d have done anything about it if it hadn’t been for my mum’s diagnosis,” she says.
Following her diagnosis, Hayley underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital.
She said: “The nurses at the oncology unit – especially Ellie Blaiklock and Debbie Henderson – were just amazing. I can’t thank them enough.
“But I had a bit of a breakdown. I thought, ‘Why is it happening to me? Why has my mum got it? Why have I got it? What have I done to deserve this?’
“Every time I had chemotherapy I was so ill, I could barely look after myself, never mind Lucy, so she had to go and stay with friends.”
She finished her treatment in February 2018 and normal life started to resume - she went back to work and was eager to make up for lost time with Lucy. However, in early 2020, she started experiencing niggling aches and pains and made immediately booked an appointment with her GP.
“I was working as a cleaner,” she says. “I started to get out of breath when I got to the top of the stairs. In February 2021 I was referred for tests and they did a full body CT scan.
“When they rang me with the results they said they were referring me back to oncology – so I knew then what was coming.”
Doctors told Hayley the stage four incurable cancer had spread through her entire skeleton. Her only option was targeted treatment and palliative care.
She says: “They keep trying different tablets, but basically I am looking at not being here by the time my daughter is 18.”
When she found out that cancer had returned, Hayley phoned her mum to tell her the devastating news – only for Mandy to be told a few weeks later her own cancer had also come back and spread to her brain.
Mandy sadly past away in August last year. In the lead up to her death, Hayley had tested positive for Covid, and wasn't allowed to visit her.
She says: “Me and my mum spoke on the phone every day. I am devastated I never got to say goodbye. The day I finally tested negative I was packing my stuff to visit her when my dad rang to say she’d gone.”
With Lucy’s grandma gone and her father not part of her life, Hayley knew she had safeguard her future. Now Hayley, Lucy, Claire and Grace are planning a trip to Disneyland Paris and going through official paperwork to assign Claire as Lucy’s legal guardian.
Hayley, who has bought cards for Lucy to open on all her milestone birthdays and is making a scrapbook of memories for her, says: “I have been open and honest with Lucy.
“She knows everything. But I know that with Claire and Grace, she’ll be in safe hands.”
Help Hayley make memories for her daughter at gofundme.com/f/making-memories-while-time-lets-us
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