‘His smile lit up the room’

Not a day goes by when Nettie Day doesn’t think about her brother, Julian.

The two were inseparable as kids growing up in Welshpool. They shared the same hobbies and interests and became best friends into their teenage years, following their love of rallying to the extent that Julian(pictured with his mother Anna) started building cars to enter into local rallies.

“He used to know how to make them dance!” Nettie recalled. “We loved watching rallies together but he took it further by building these cars himself and then taking part in the events. He was really good and I was there to watch him.”

But tragedy struck just as Julian was heading into the prime of his life.

Aged just 21, he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 1994 and sadly passed away three years later. The bottom fell out of Nettie’s life. She supported her brother throughout his difficult times during which “he kept smiling”.

“Even during the worst days of his treatment, he still had his wicked sense of humour and I feel lucky that we had that time,” she said. “He had the ability to make me and anyone else laugh, his smile lit up the room.”

With the heartwrenching words of her brother “Don’t forget about me” still fresh in her memory, Nettie has decided this Saturday night to let her two children, Caitlyn and James, shave off her hair in aid of the blood and Lymphatic cancer charity, Leukaemia CARE. Cousin Hollie Pinchera, from Forden, will be on hand to finish the job off.

“I felt that I wanted to do something that would keep Julian’s memory alive and also for every cancer patient that has ever lost their hair,” she said. “I will even be donating the hair that comes off to a wig charity. I am sure that Julian will be looking down and smiling.”

During Julian’s brave three-year fight he was one of three patients to test a new drug called Atra. Unfortunately the drug was not successful for any of the three patients but, today, it has been used to combat this type of cancer. Exactly 12 months after Julian was diagnosed the drug was used on a woman called Emma who survived and, today, has four children.

“That is the positive,” said Nettie who recognises the incredible support that the charity, Leukaemia CARE, provides and wants to raise as much awareness as possible. “It is such a valuable support mechanism.”

Nettie is aiming to raise £2,000 by the time her hair comes off and has organised a night of singing and entertainment to accompany her efforts at the Railway Inn, Penybontfawr, where she now lives. She has previously held a bingo night at the Public institute in Llanfyllin and a quiz night in the Railway Inn over the past few weeks.