What Teens Unite Means To Us - Pedro and His Family
Pedro and his family have told us their thoughts and comments on being a part Teens Unite.
Pedro
When I was first diagnosed, I was feeling very down and as I went through my treatment I felt very weak and had very little to look forward to...It was my second time having cancer and all excitement had gone out of my life...that was literally until I got offered some tickets by Teens Unite to see Kylie Minogue (during my treatment). This really lifted my spirits and I finally had something to look forward to (although I was quite poorly at the time). Some of the teenagers there at the outings were partly people I knew from UCLH Teen Cancer Ward and being in a different place having a brilliant experience made me feel almost normal.
It is very important to feel normal and be treated as normal while having this nasty cancer treatment. It felt to me that at times people were afraid to visit me at the hospital and "hang out" because I was sick. So I mostly hang out with my 3 sisters, mum and dad. It was them who came with me to these days out and it really helped our family to have some fun during hard times.
My experiences have been great; I had never been to events as exciting and loud as these! It made me really happy and I was very grateful of Teens Unite and I still appreciate them for the recent events I've been to; New Kids On The Block, PINK, Britney Spears and others..I also met Debbie, Caroline and Karen Millen during these outings and all are such special people, who just want to help teenagers like myself have a great time during this very difficult part of our lives. I am really grateful for Teens Unite. Thank you very much.
Carolina 13 years old (Pedro's Sister)
Teens Unite has been great! When Pedro got sick and was mostly in hospital, it was rare for us to have something nice to look forward to. I have been with Pedro to some days out and its’ been amazing. Pedro becomes different and at least for a short while we almost forget about the sad things happening. We had some good fun at a Magic show in the London Palladium as a family and it was so great, we were impressed with how magic the evening was, although we ended up rushing Pedro to the hospital to have an emergency blood transfusion. Thank you for everything and making my brother so happy.
Carla 16 years old (Pedro's Sister)
Pedro is my baby brother. When he got sick I was so scared and our lives were turned upside down. Suddenly I was to help a lot more around the home looking after the family and could not have a social life or even concentrate well for my GCSE's. My outings were usually visiting Pedro in the Hospital. During this frightening time, Pedro was offered the days out and chose me to accompany him. I was so pleased, as I got to actually have a laugh have and fun with him and did not feel weird. The thing is, I felt I could not laugh for such a long time as Pedro's illness was so scary. Little by little our family have relaxed and have started enjoying life again. Pedro is still not out of the woods; although he finished treatment, but these days out allow us to find a spirit of fun in the adversity of a life or death situation. It definitely helped me bond with Pedro. It’s hard for people to understand how much having a sibling so sick can affect someone, but it does, as I felt at times as if I was powerless and could not help him. During this time, we had so much hardship and to have the charity providing lovely days out is a lifeline to our family. I want to thank you and wish lots of success in future fundraising.
Sonia (Pedro's Mum)
I do not remember who at the hospital put us in touch with Teens Unite. I was in such a daze, I just remember mentioning that Pedro needed to do normal teenage things, but I had no idea or the means to get him anywhere during his treatment. On these days out (usually to concerts and football games) Pedro has been in a box room and that helped, because having low immunity means he should not be exposed to the open public. It was also more comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, as I experienced, having been to some outings with him. What really amazed me was the kindness displayed by Debbie, Caroline and Karen. I have immense gratitude for their devotion in getting teenagers and young people out there enjoying life when there's not much joy left in their lives. They did work hard to bring joy to Pedro's life and they inspired him to be determined and steam ahead, conquering the fear of getting out there and living again. Your work is wonderful and the results are instant. We are still facing a limbo situation medically-wise and the latest day out got Pedro raving since (the Britney Spears Concert). This being Pedro's second cancer, it makes things a lot more difficult. We really hope that the charity goes from strength to strength, providing entertainment for these youngsters who are facing such horrendous difficulties and allowing them to meet others in a similar position. The really nice thing is, their medical background does not make any difference when young people are together, they are all in the same boat. Pedro has had difficulty with maintaining his friendships during these hard times and Teens Unite was great in that aspect also as he has found some people he can talk to during some of these outings.
I thank you and wish you great success in your mission of helping to support young people in this way.
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