Two Manx residents will be abseiling down Liverpool cathedral to raise money for the hospital where they both received their life-saving cancer treatments.
Pamela Armillei and Catherine Cassidy became friends through their shared experience of being treated at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral.
She spent around seven months in the hospital and intensive care unit, without any visitors during the covid lockdown.
Challenges Pamela faced during her treatments included ‘cardiac arrest, kidney dialysis, two brain bleeds, learning to walk again, my hair falling out, not to mention being pumped full of cytotoxic drugs’.
And Catherine had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2020, undergoing surgery and rehabilitation at the Walton Centre hospital before radiotherapy at Clatterbridge.
Barclays worker Pamela came up with the idea after sponsoring a hospital porter who had done the abseil to raise money for Clatterbridge, which has overseen the cancer treatments of many Manx residents.
She said that the last time she had done any climbing was with the Venture Centre as a Ballakermeen High School student at the cliffs of Maughold Head.
However, Pamela pointed out the sheerness of the 101-metre Anglican Cathedral Tower would be different.
‘I’m more intrigued as to how I’ll feel at the top, but I think once I get going I’ll be okay,’ she said.
It will be even more of a challenge for Catherine, whose mobility is still slightly impaired from a stroke she suffered during treatments.
Asked what made Clatterbridge so special, Pamela said: ‘Obviously the level of medical expertise is over and above, but then the level of personal care that you get from the staff, that really is a great example of the vocation of doctors and nurses and why they do what they do’.
She added that the hospital ‘became like a home away from home’ for the months she spent there on her own, with the staff being her ‘friends and family’ throughout the difficult time.
Pamela also runs an Instagram page called ‘The Leukaemia Diaries’ which she set up during her treatment to share the experience with others, going on to make friends with other cancer sufferers
‘From a mental health recovery standpoint, it’s been quite a positive thing for me - and good to be able to help those who have recently been diagnosed,’ Pamela told the Examiner.
And as for any words of advice she would have to people beginning cancer treatment, Pamela said: ‘It’s one of those things that before it’s happened to you, you don’t really understand it.
‘For me it was trying to be as positive, pragmatic and realistic as possible – to know that you’re in the best hands, and getting the best treatment, whether that’s on island or at Clatterbridge.
‘And trying not to get swallowed up in melancholy or negativity, which I know is easier said than done.
She continued: ‘But I found sharing and talking, and being as positive mentally as you possibly can. Which of course isn’t always easy.
‘I know that sounds like such a cliche but it is true, and there’s also a massive community of support out there so people shouldn’t need to feel alone.’
She added: ‘Try to use all the support networks available whether that’s Macmillan, Hospice, local charity, Instagram communities or even things like cancer and Leukaemia subreddits’.
People can support Pamela and Catherine’s fundraiser by searching ‘Pamela Armillei’ on justgiving.com or at www.justgiving.com/page/pamela-armillei-1683652521027