Tom’s mum, Wendy, is being treated at The Royal Marsden after being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2022. Wendy has been treated with chemotherapy, as well as a bone marrow transplant.
Incredible care from staff at The Royal Marsden
“The care that Mum has received over the last two years has been second to none,” says Tom. “Recently when she was in hospital, it was my dad’s 70th birthday, and the staff were just so nice. They had a card from the nurses and porters and they hung decorations up in the room for when he came in. They made him a cup of tea in a ‘70’ mug, and they even had a cake.
“It's so hard on family members as well,” adds Jordan. “But it was nice that Tom’s dad was able to celebrate with the staff as well as his mum.”
It was after spending time with his mum at The Royal Marsden in Sutton that Tom decided to begin fundraising for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
“I learnt that you have favours, which I didn’t know was a thing! Jordan came up with the idea that we could give a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity”
Tom says: “Just being in The Royal Marsden really makes you think about the amount of money that it must cost just to keep the whole place running. I feel like I could fundraise for the rest of my life and it still probably wouldn’t pay for one day of what The Royal Marsden actually costs.
“When we started planning the wedding, I learnt that apparently you have favours on the table, which I didn’t know was a thing! Jordan came up with the idea that we could just give a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, and have cards on the table for people to donate themselves.
“We felt like we were spending so much money on a wedding that we thought it would be nice to give back. The Royal Marsden did so much, looking after Mum.”
The wedding day
Tom and Jordan were married in Dublin, where they live, in 2024, and they were thrilled that Wendy was well enough to join them for their big day.
In addition to all their friends and family, the couple were also joined by a number of unexpected guests, which Jordan arranged as a surprise for Tom.
“We both love dogs,” says Jordan, “and Tom has always asked if we could get an Irish wolfhound which, obviously, we can’t – they’re huge! So, I got a set of seven Irish wolfhounds, a whole pack, to turn up at the wedding. Tom turned around and asked if we could bring one home, but the answer was ‘No!’”
Supporting The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Special occasion giving can be a great way to support a charity while celebrating an important life event. Whether you are getting married, hosting an anniversary or birthday party, or even planning a baby shower, there are lots of ways that you can support The Royal Marsden through special occasion giving.
“We just wanted to do something,” explains Tom. “We feel helpless in a way, when it comes to Mum and her treatment, so that was our way of doing something for her.”
Special occasion giving
Would you like to turn your special event into a reason to fundraise for us?
If you’re inspired by Tom and Jordan’s story, visit our special occasion fundraising page to find out more and register your special event.