Locks will be shaved in memory of mum

ANNEMIJN Mear is shaving her head in remembrance of her mother and to raise funds for the Cancer Society. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER.

July 14, is a significant day for Rotorua mother-of-two, Annemijn Mear.
It was on July 14, 2007, that Annemijn lost her mother to lung cancer in Holland.

"It was Christmas 2006, I was here in Rotorua and she rang me to say that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer but it was operable.

"She said that the operation was scheduled for January and they were going to remove part of her right lung, and it should be sweet."

Annemijn arrived in Holland mid-January, the day before her mother's operation.
"They opened her up and decided they couldn't do anything because it had spread," she said.

"So I stayed with my mum. I looked after her until she went to a hospice. She passed away six months after her diagnosis. She was a month shy of her 57th birthday."

Annemijn says it was a very hard six months for her and her two brothers, who both live in Holland.

"She tried a round of chemotherapy, and as her kids, we were like, why is she doing this? It had no promise. It may have given her three months extra but she would be sick as a dog.

"She was just going through the motions, listening to the oncologists. But she then chose quality over quantity," she says.

"She went on a trip to Scotland, and she had a little caravan by the coast in Holland, which she stayed in a lot. She just enjoyed her life really."

Annemijn says although her mother spent her last days enjoying time with family, there is so much missed out on.

"Her first grandchild was on his way, my brother's son, and he was born a month after she died, but she went to all the appointments, she knew what his name was, but she never got to hold him," she says.

"Now I have two children, Leila is 3 years old and Hugo is 7 months old. She didn't get to meet them."

On Tuesday July 14, Annemijn will shave her head in remembrance of the mother she lost, and raise funds for other mothers, grandmothers, daughters and others battling to beat the nasty disease.

"I don't want this to be a sob story. I want it to be a story of empowerment.

"It's a positive thing. I'm hoping to raise $2500 for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Society, to help find a cure, or at least provide cancer patients with some relief."

To donate to Annemijn's cause go to www.everydayhero.com and search A Bald Statement.