Fight for your dream like Sarah, say family

From the archive, first published Monday 11th Jun 2007.

A couple have paid tribute to their daughter who fulfilled her life-long ambition of becoming an air hostess, despite battling cancer for five years.

Allan and Pat Ramsden want to celebrate the life of their "fun-loving and beautiful" daughter, Sarah, 23, who died last month of Hodgkin's Disease.

Their son, Tom, 26, was diagnosed with the same illness a few months before his sister but is now in remission.

His parents say they are determined to look to the future to support Tom and their other son, Josh, 17.

Despite being diagnosed with cancer in 2003, Sarah never gave up on her dream to become a stewardess and even gruelling chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant could not hold her back.

The former Guiseley School pupil finally realised her dream, passing her exams and landing a job with Jet2, despite being rejected by many airlines.

But, only days after Sarah had secured a permanent contract with Jet2 at Leeds-Bradford International Airport in January last year, her health deteriorated.

Her only hope was a bone marrow transplant, which Sarah dubbed "Yankee marrow" as her donor was from America.

The operation was a success, but Sarah became unwell again at Christmas and she spent the last months of her life in Leeds General Infirmary where she died last month.

Her friends and family packed out St Oswald's Parish Church in Guiseley to say their goodbyes at her funeral.

Conducting the service was the Reverend Charles Knowles, who is married to Calendar Girl Angela Baker.

Angela, whose first husband John died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a close family friend and Sarah and Tom accompanied her and some of the Rylstone WI women made famous by the Calendar Girls film to meet Prince Charles at Clarence House.

Angela was also close to boy band McFly. She met her idols many times and would speak to them on the phone. She also met the Kaiser Chiefs, Tom Jones and The Who frontman, Roger Daltrey.

She loved celebrities so much, she was dubbed a "celebrity stalker" by nurses on her ward.

Sarah, along with her family and her friends, also threw themselves into fund-raising for cancer causes, including the Teenage Cancer Unit at St James's Hospital, Leeds, the Lymphoma Association and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

About £2,500 was raised at Sarah's funeral, which the family will match and donate to the Leukaemia Research Unit at the University of York.

Now, Sarah's parents, of Hawksworth Lane, Guiseley, want to keep their daughter's memory alive.

They are thinking of ploughing fundraising money into a holiday cottage to rent out, providing a regular income for charity - and to be a memorial for their daughter.

Mr Ramsdsen said: "For four-and-a-half years she was so positive.

"She showed that if you had a dream you should never lose sight of it and, after lots of knock-backs, Sarah achieved hers."

Mrs Ramsden said: "She fought hard. She just wanted to live and do everything; she loved life. She was a real party girl.

"I remember saying to Sarah, If I could go through this for you, I would.' And she said, I know you never wanted to outlive your daughter, but you have had 23 years of me.'"

Family friend Carla Edmonds summed up Sarah in four words at her funeral - positive, focused, optimistic and courageous.

Mr and Mrs Ramsden paid tribute to staff in the haematology ward at LGI and the McMillan nurses who cared for her daughter.

They also thanked Jet2 for keeping Sarah's job open for her and McDonald's in Guiseley - where Sarah had previously worked as a manager - for being wonderful during her illness.

l Anyone who wants to donate to the LGI teenage cancer unit, St James's Hospital and the Lymphoma Association can pay into First Direct, account number 40245682, sort code 40-47-70, name Mr A and Mrs M P Ramsden.