A young woman from Hull who was diagnosed with cancer just weeks after completing her degree has received a special graduation ceremony in hospital.
Lilli Hales, 20, had already bought her graduation dress and was looking forward to officially marking the end of her studies at the University of Hull with family and friends. Things were looking good for the aspiring primary school teacher when she received confirmation of her 2.1 grade in Drama and Theatre Studies.
But towards the end of June, Lilli was admitted to Ward 33, the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Unit at Castle Hill Hospital, after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She said: “I’d been feeling unwell for quite a while, I was pale and I’d been having dizzy spells, so I went to my GP who arranged a blood test.
“I carried on organising things for university and working my part-time job at Starbucks, but when I was asked back to the GP surgery to receive my results, things started to move really quickly and I was admitted to the TYA Unit at Castle Hill the same day. It all felt a bit surreal, like I was in a dream that I was going to wake up from and then find out it wasn’t real.”
Lilli had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a type of cancer which affects the blood and is diagnosed in just over 3,000 people each year in the UK, according to NHS figures. She was immediately admitted to Ward 33 at Castle Hill Hospital, in Cottingham, the specialist ward caring for teenagers and young adults diagnosed with cancer across the Humber and North Yorkshire region, supported by the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.
(Image: Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust)
It was here she met Charlene Kent, who has worked as the TYA Unit’s youth support co-ordinator for the past seven-and-a-half years. In her time, Charlene has supported hundreds of young people and their families through one of the toughest challenges life can throw at them.
Lilli said: “Missing my graduation ceremony wasn’t part of the plan; it’s disappointing not to be there in person with my friends to celebrate, but when I mentioned I was due to graduate this summer to Charlene, straight away she told me, ‘we’ll make this happen’.”
In something akin to DIY SOS, Charlene was off, making phone calls, pulling in favours and putting plans in place to ensure Lilli could still enjoy her most special of days, donning cap and gown, scroll in hand, surrounded by the people she loves. Charlene said: “Treating the physical effects of cancer is only one part of what we do at the Teenage and Young Adult Unit.
“It’s really important to us to get to know our patients so we can care for the whole person and support their families and loved ones as well. This time of life is typically when people finish exams, start a career, have a family, so it can be really stressful anyway, but when you add a cancer diagnosis into the mix, you can see why it’s so important to support a young person’s mental wellbeing as well as their physical health.
“When Lilli told me she was due to graduate in a couple of weeks’ time, I just had to make sure she didn’t miss out. She’s studied for years – graduating is a rite of passage – and she deserves the chance to celebrate like everyone else.
(Image: Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust)
“And while she might not be well enough to leave hospital and be there in person, we wanted to make sure that her illness didn’t stop her from marking such a special occasion in life.” Charlene and Lilli’s parents, Tracy and David, have been busy organising everything a girl could possibly need to graduate, from balloons and a marquee in the hospital grounds to celebration cakes and a photographer.
They arranged for the university’s graduation ceremony to be live-streamed at Castle Hill Hospital and for Lilli to join online via Zoom. And to top things off, colleagues at the University of Hull arranged for a cap and gown to be sent over for Lilli to wear on the day, with relatives from as far afield as the Netherlands, and her week-old niece, joining her for the occasion.
Lilli said: “Throughout my time in the TYA Unit, the staff have been outstanding. Whenever I’ve needed something, they’ve been there straight away, the teams are all really professional and they have all shown me so much compassion. Nothing is too much trouble.
“What Charlene, the hospital team and my family have done for me today is nothing short of amazing. The decorations, the live stream, the cap and gown; it means I’m not missing out, and I still get to celebrate with my loved ones.”
(Image: Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust)
Charlene added: “There are too many people to thank individually; so many people just instantly said yes when we approached them for help. But special thanks must go to the staff on the TYA Unit and Ward 33 for all the support they’ve shown to Lilli in recent weeks and their help with the preparations, especially ward housekeeper, Sue Fridlington.
“Haematology nurse, Donna Trafford, has been a great help to me personally, the hospital’s catering team has provided food which is being paid for by our hospital charity, WISHH, and the University of Hull has pulled out all the stops to ensure Lilli feels as much a part of the ceremony as every other person graduating that day.
“It’s been such a special event to be a part of, but it’s nothing short of what this special young lady deserves.”
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