“I know I should feel totally elated with every thousand I hit, but I usually need a day in bed to cry and have a think,” Sarah Griffiths says reflecting on her mammoth fundraising mission in memory of her daughter Daisy Wyatt who died aged just 14 from Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Since Daisy died in 2017 Sarah has made it her goal to do everything possible to keep her daughter’s memory alive, and do as much good as she can in her name. “Daisy touched so many people’s hearts in her short life and she smiled through everything, and I know I need to continue smiling for her,” the doctor’s receptionist from Blackwood told WalesOnline. Last month with a competition which she shared with her friends online she reached £100,000 for the charity Dreams and Wishes, and she has no plans to stop.
“It’s totally overwhelming when I hit each thousand extra, so when I hit £100k it was almost too much. The next day I hit a brick wall. It’s a feeling of sadness, like my whole body is sad. But Daisy wouldn’t want me to feel like that, she’d want me to carry on smiling for Zak and Evan (Daisy's brothers) and Leighton (Daisy's dad).
“That sadness always passes, and once it passes I pull my socks back up and get going again with the next challenge. It’s the only way I’ve coped. It’s my life now. It’s about having a focus. To any parent who has lost a child, I would say have a focus, even if it’s just getting out of bed in the morning, because that can be a challenge in itself and I’m in awe of bereaved parents who manage to do that.”
Every year since Daisy passed Sarah has created events, conducted competitions, ran marathons and half marathons, and has relied on the help of friends and family to raise an unbelievable amount of money for a charity that helped her family create memories with Daisy in her last months. Wales-based charity Dreams and Wishes surprises seriously ill children and their families with gifts, and Sarah has now become an ambassador them.
“I’ll never stop,” she said of her fundraising feat. “To be honest with you when I started all of this when Daisy died I never had a target in mind at all. I suppose I’ll get on for the next £100,000 now, because it gives me my focus and it keeps me going thinking we’re helping other kids and their families in the way Dreams and Wishes helped us. It’s a really tough old time when you’re on that horrible journey and anything to brighten your day makes a huge difference. They did so much for us and I want to spend my time doing what I can for them. They gave us so many things and memories to cherish.
“Daisy's friends meant the world to her and when Dreams and Wishes got her an iPad so she could talk to them from the hospital it was so lovely for her. You can see in the photo of her with her iPad she was beaming. I remember being an emotional wreck because it was so kind and totally out of the blue. At that point I didn’t even know what Dreams and Wishes was, and yet they’d do something like that for us. They also organised for us to go and watch a Wales rugby match and meet the players and even have a meal afterwards. They’ve been unbelievable.”
Last month she ran the Newport marathon and the money raised put her in touching distance of £100k. A generous offer from a friend to give up her caravan in Pembrokeshire for a weekend as a competition prize got her over the line, and Sarah said it was fitting that such kindness made it happen.
“It was the second time I’d done the Newport marathon but I got four miles in and I didn’t think I’d manage it, I had quite a bit of pain. But I didn’t stop. I don’t stop, because I think of what those brilliant children go through in that hospital (Heath Hospital) and I think of what Daisy went through, and nothing compares to that. I grinned all the way around the race.
“In April it was coming up to the sixth anniversary of Daisy’s passing and I really wanted to hit the £100k with my competition. Bluestone Resort in Narberth very generously gave me tickets for prizes and a good friend donated her caravan in Pembroke for a weekend. I had so many other lovely donations too. I set everything up in the dining room with Daisy’s flag in the background and we did a huge draw and surpassed £100k, Bob’s your uncle - smashed it. I’ve got to say as soon as I’ve asked for help to raise money I’ve always had amazing support, I’m really fortunate like that.”
Can she now finally allow herself to feel a sense of satisfaction with what she has achieved in Daisy’s name? “I don’t know. I don’t have a wow factor that I’ve done it, I always did it to help me get through each day. What does give me a sense of pride is that I’m keeping Daisy’s memory alive, because I want people to carry on talking about her and to remember her. I want to keep Dreams and Wishes in the spotlight too.”
In October she’ll be donning the running shoes again for the Cardiff Half, where she’ll also be sporting Daisy’s wristbands which are still worn by Daisy’s friends and family. “People still wear the bands for Daisy,” Sarah added. “Demand is still huge for them. They’re being worn all over the world. When I’m out running I look down at my Daisy band and I turn into Forrest Gump.”
Founder of Dreams and Wishes Tony Curtis said: "Sarah, since the sad loss of her daughter Daisy has been determined to create as many smiles on faces for seriously ill children and their families as she can, in her daughter’s legacy. Daisy’s brother Zak became one of our youngest fundraisers ever six years ago and continues to fundraise in memory of his sister. I know she will be determined to now raise the next one hundred thousand pounds, she is one amazing lady who we are all very proud of at Dreams and Wishes."
Sarah's new page to find out more and make a donation is here.
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