Elin Rose Waite passed away on 22 May with her favourite red teddy, Reddy, in her arms and her parents, former Jersey teachers Sian and Martin, telling her they loved her. She was nine years old.
The youngster won the hearts of thousands of Islanders in 2013 when, in an interview in the JEP, Mr Waite described the heartbreaking moment doctors gave him the devastating diagnosis in 2011.
He went on to talk about the campaign he and Sian had launched to increase awareness about Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and to raise money to take Elin Rose to America for ground-breaking new treatment not available in England.
Hundreds in Jersey rallied to their support and raised more than £100,000 for the cause, enabling the family to travel to a clinic in Maryland.
Last night, as they prepared for Elin Rose’s funeral today, Mr Waite said that the support of the Island community had been a huge source of strength over the past few years.
Elin Rose was born and went to school in Jersey before the family moved back to England, where she received treatment.
Mr Waite taught drama at Le Rocquier and Mrs Waite was an English teacher at Les Quennevais.
In a post on elinrose.co.uk, the website they set up to provide a focus for their fundraising and to keep supporters up to date with news, Mr and Mrs Waite wrote: ‘I am sad to say that in the early hours of Friday 22 May, Elin took her last breaths. She had been getting more and more poorly over the preceding fortnight, and she died with Reddy in her arms and her mother and father beside her telling her they loved her.
‘The pain of her loss is of course very difficult to bear.
‘As we look back over her life, through the many thousands of pictures we have of a life most extraordinary, we are struck by her generosity of spirit, her zest for life and learning, and her fierce determination, all of which were apparent in her final days.
‘As a big sister, she was proud and loyal and she worshipped Nia as much as Nia worshipped her. As a daughter she blessed our lives with her warmth and humour, she showed us how to live and taught us how to face the world – with a smile, with love and with untold joy.
- Ewing’s sarcoma is a primary bone cancer that affects mainly children and adolescents.
- It is the second most common bone cancer in children, but it’s also relatively uncommon.
- It accounts for only 1% of all childhood cancers.
- Although it can occur at any age, it very rarely occurs in adults over the age of 30.
‘We would like to thank each and every one of you who have read these pages, donated to Elin’s appeal and shown such generosity to our family. The appeal gave us hope and as we move forward it now gives hope to others. As we have always said, any money raised which we did not use directly to help Elin would be used in the future for research into Ewing’s Sarcoma. It is our hope that a more effective cure can be found – especially for those, like Elin, who find that the disease is persistent and recurrent.’
They added: ‘Elin leaves a huge gap in our lives, but she is also a shining beacon of hope, not only for others facing challenges as she did but also by way of example to anyone wishing to lead a full and rewarding life; she was ever optimistic and slowing down was not an option she ever considered.
‘During the Easter break, on one of our family trips to Norfolk to see William the horse, Elin and the family settled down to watch the film The Book of Life.
‘In that film the main characters have a maxim – never retreat, never surrender.
‘Elin liked that saying and said it to me often. It is how she wanted to live and, I think, how she would want to be remembered.’
FOR the friends she made at Little Oaks Nursery, for the hundreds of Islanders who helped raise more than £100,000 to save her life, and for all who knew and loved her and her wonderful family, Elin Rose’s death on 22 May came as a crushing blow.
For four years, this happy young Islander had faced her fight against Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, with unrelenting positivity.
She smiled, enjoying her life to the full, while others cried at the injustice of this disease.
Echoing the words of a character in one of her favourite films, The Book of Life, Elin would often tell her mother that they should never retreat, never surrender.
The terrible regularity with which stories appear in the news about the loss of young life to cancer can make words such as brave and courageous when used to describe children like Elin Rose seem like clichés.
But for those who have shared the journey of families affected by cancer, and particularly those who knew Sian and Martin Waite and their two daughters, these words describe perfectly their amazing resilience, their strength and love.
Throughout the past few years, Mr and Mrs Martin have kept friends and supporters up to date with Elin’s treatment, the ups and downs of her battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, through their campaign website elinrose.co.uk.
And it was on the site that, hours after her death, they penned the heartbreaking posting above.
Despite the dark moments and tears described by Mr Waite in an interview with the JEP in 2013, in which he described the moment doctors gave him the awful diagnosis and how the family has coped with it, this post, like so many others that preceded it, is filled with hope.
That optimism will not be extinguished with Elin’s passing. The campaign will continue to support other families and money raised will be used to fund research into Ewing’s Sarcoma in the hope that a cure can be found.
The past four years demonstrated the enduring strength of family and the generosity and love of a community which got behind Sian, Martin, Elin Rose and Nia.
Time and again, Jersey rallies to the support of people in need of help.
Once more, Jersey has shown itself at its best.
- To date, the appeal has raised an incredible £133,000 for accessing treatment and for future research into Ewing’s Sarcoma
- This has included over £50,000 through Virgin Money Giving online donation pages.
- In addition, offline donations have now raised over £83,000
- If you are thinking of holding an event for the charity, you can email contact@elinrose.co.uk
- To date, Islanders have held cake sales, marathons, triathlons, bring and buy sales, car boots, swimathons, sponsored walks, concerts, raffles, quizzes, garden parties, summer balls, tournaments, dress down days, discos, yoga challenges, auctions, race nights, cycle rides, poetry collections, songs, luncheons, coffee mornings, scootathlons, gigs and danceathons in aid of the appeal
Find out more about the Elin Rose Appeal here
