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 set up the charity in his name, hoping to create a retreat in the North West countryside for children with life limiting and life threatening illnesses, plus 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 made.
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Heidi’s Story
Our Reuben’s Retreat families are always inspiring us! Sarah, Heidi’s Mummy, set up a charity called PEEPS in 2018, supporting families who have been affected by HIE. HIE stands for hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, it is a lack of oxygen to the brain that can cause injury. Please read Sarah’s words below about her amazing little Heidi,…
14th April
Autumn Update
Wow! Autumn is here already and as the beautiful leaves begin to turn, we look forward to cosy evenings and prepare for the next few months here at Reuben’s Retreat. Thanks to your amazing support throughout this challenging year, we are continuing to support families through rain and shine, due to the generous hearts who surround us. Alongside our virtual activities, it’s been a pleasure…
23rd September
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Run for Reuben!
The sponsorship and awareness raised through Running for Reuben has been integral to the charity since we began back in 2012, and we’d love for you to join us this year and help us to turn the streets REUBlue once again! GREAT MANCHESTER RUN – Sunday 26th September 2021 Once again there’s a choice of…
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