SHE had watched her little sister battle but finally succumb to leukaemia.
And now a young Hepworth woman is planning to hit the road to help research into the condition.
Becca Gould, 22, is hard at work running through the roads around the village as she prepares for the Edinburgh Half Marathon on May 26.
But her training was badly disrupted by the recent snow as she had to contend with drifts several feet deep!
“I am running the half marathon in memory of my sister Rosanna who died from leukaemia at the age of seven,” said Becca, who is in her final year at Northumbria University.
“ She was an inspiration to many people as she loved life and lived it to the full.
“She was born with vocal chord palsy and had to have a tracheotomy fitted followed by a gastrostomy because she couldn’t feed.
“She was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was two but fought through that, only to have it return when she was six.
“That time she wasn’t able to fight it and she died in November 2003 just days after her seventh birthday.
“Seeing her go through treatment made me realise that life has got to be for living because that is exactly what she did,” Becca said.
Becca, who is studying business and French, added: “She never gave up trying to live her life to the full and she became known as the special little girl who taught everybody the meaning of life.
“My family and I miss her dreadfully but life goes on and she is the reason why I give blood regularly and raise money for both Leukaemia CARE and research.”
Becca, who has a younger brother Matthew, has done sponsored walks in the past for Candlelighters but the Edinburgh run will be her toughest challenge to date.
“I have managed 10 miles in training and I’d love to be able to do the race in under two hours.
“Training is going well but the snow kept me off the roads for a week, as I couldn’t compete with the cars in the narrow lanes.”
To sponsor Becca for the run visit: http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca Gould91
