Reuben’s Story
On Friday 31st August 2012 Reuben’s family Mike, Nicola and Isaac Graham said their final goodbye to their gorgeous 23 month old son and little brother during a beautiful ceremony in their home village of Mottram 11 miles from Manchester
Vicar James Halstead from St Michael All Angels Church conducted a wonderful ceremony. Reuben’s parents showed such courage & bravery as they individually spoke words of sadness, love and laughter as they paid tribute to their wonderful son Reuben Michael Graham.
Reuben’s Mummy & Daddy, family, god parents and friends vowed that his life would not have been lost in vain and that he would leave a lasting legacy.
Every parents worse nightmare
Reuben was enjoying a family holiday in Devon; he was his usual happy self, having fun crabbing with his older brother Isaac. Reuben had been ill for 3 weeks on and off and despite several Doctors visits, nobody was unduly worried. He would be sick in a morning and then he would recover within minutes and be fine for the rest of the day. A tell-tale sign for things to come, but never in their wildest nightmares could they have known what was about to happen.
Reuben had a fall and became pale and distressed, his worried parents took him to A & E at Barnstaple Hospital and when Reuben failed to respond to some routine tests he was sent for a CT scan. The scan showed a large mass on his brain they suspected to be a tumour.
He was quickly transferred to the neurological unit at Frenchay Hospital by air ambulance where he underwent hours of surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. Plans were quickly put in place for further surgery but sadly Reuben arrested during the night and his organs began to fail, despite fighting his way through another 5 hour operation some two days later he was too poorly to undergo any further surgery. He was transferred again to PICU at Bristol Children’s Hospital so they could help his organs to recover. Reuben fell asleep in his Mummy’s arms on Tuesday 21st August 2012.
The diagnosis
Reuben had suffered an ATRT which is Atypical terratoid rhabdoid tumour, it is a very rare and aggressive form of Cancerous tumour, only 4 to 5 children will be diagnosed with this tumour in the UK per year and there are very few symptoms.
A legacy in his name
Despite the devastating grief that comes when a quarter of your family is gone, his brave and inspirational parents have set up a charity in his name, they plan to have a retreat in the north west countryside for children with life limiting and life threatening illnesses, with a bereavement support and counselling centre for Mummy’s, Daddy’s and Siblings who have lost their precious children. A place where families can take in the rolling hills and countryside, a place of comfort, peace and tranquillity, a place where memories can be built.
Our Blog View all
We’ve gone to tender!
Welcome to Reuben’s Retreat’s news update! Firstly, a message from Nicola, Reuben’s proud Mummy and Reuben’s Retreat founder “I’m really excited to share that we have gone to tender for our next build phases. As you know, our Retreat inside is derelict and we still have a lot of work to do. We hope to…
23rd November
REUBEN’S RETREAT TURNS 6!
Another incredible 12 months have gone by, crammed full of love, determination, generous souls and hard work. Tinged with sadness as we support families with uncertain futures or loss in their hearts, but oh so proud of Reuben’s legacy and the impact it’s having on precious lives. We’d need a photo-frame the size of a football…
18th September
What's Happening View all
Upcoming Events
Dec 1/2 8/9 15/16 & 22nd Grotto at Lymefield Our amazing volunteers are once again running Santa’s Grotto for us at Lymefield Garden Centre, Broadbottom, SK14 6AG. This is a charity event run by Reuben’s Retreat hosted by the team at Lymefield. This is a magical event for little ones. We like to capture some…
Manchester Great Run 2018
We are very EXCITED for our 6th Year at Great Manchester Run Please come and join us in turning Manchester ReuBlue for the 6th year ‘running’ on 20th May 2018. This year, again, you have the choice of the 10k or the half marathon distance round the sights of Manchester. And your little ones can…
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