Help others in memory of Rafe (From Stroud News and Journal)

Help others in memory of Rafe

A BEREAVED Bisley family are determined to celebrate their son's life by helping others through the trauma of cancer.

Rafe Mobbs died on Friday, March 16, 2001 following a 15 month battle with leukaemia, a battle his family believed he had won.

Now they want to help others by raising £3,000 to buy a special machine for chemotherapy patients.

Rafe was attending Nene College in Northampton studying sports studies and history when he fell ill with suspected glandular fever.

But within weeks the twenty-one-year-old student was diagnosed with leukaemia and underwent the first of two chemotherapy sessions at the oncology unit in Cheltenham.

The chemotherapy was successful and put Rafe into remission. But due to the virulence of the leukaemia doctors proposed a bone marrow transplant to ensure the cancer would not return.

A donor from North America was found and in August 2000, Rafe underwent a gruelling operation at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, which again appeared to be completely successful.

His father Chris Mobbs said: "We thought he had it beaten but in February when he was due for a review the hospital said that it would be better if Rafe came in with someone.

"We knew then that the leukaemia had come back. Rafe died a few weeks later in March.

The death came as terrible blow to the family. "It has been a hammerblow for his 19-year-old brother Edward," said Chris. "He lost a really good mate and a mentor. "For Claire, my wife, it has been unbearable."

Rafe studied at Deer Park School, Cirencester and played cricket at Stinchcombe and Bisley and football for Eastcombe.

"He was good at all sports," said Chris. "He had an impish little smile and a great love of life, he was very popular and a good organiser.

"People would always listen to him."

Since Rafe's death, Chris and Claire have been involved in raising funds to help others facing the trauma of cancer.

Donations of £1,000 have already gone to the Edward Jenner Clinic that Rafe attended at GRH and to the Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

The family have now set their sights on purchasing the £3,000 Dinnamap machine for the oncology unit at Cheltenham.

The machine measures blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate of chemotherapy patients.

Funds for the machine are already underway.

Chris is business manager at the Stroud & Swindon Building Society and a stall outside the Stroud branch on Goodwill Evening has already raised £400.

A deeds and promises evening is also to be held on Saturday, April 13 at the WI hall, Bisley.

Chris said: "This is a thank you to all the hospitals that took such good care of our little man.

"People felt better for knowing Rafe and we want some good to come out of all this."

Here at the SNJ we would like to enlist our generous readers help in purchasing the vital medical equipment in memory of Rafe Mobbs.

Donations can be made by cheque to SNJ Appeals, 6 Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BE or cash can be dropped off at our office in Lansdown.