In June 2019, in the middle of her A-levels, Ruby Fuller, 17, began to feel unwell. After initially being misdiagnosed as allergies, her worsening symptoms eventually led to the discovery of a large tumour caused by a rare and aggressive blood cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, which later developed into T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL).
Ruby went through 10 months of gruelling treatment, including intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant, spent over 200 nights in hospital, and endured debilitating side effects such as weight loss and peripheral neuropathy that left her unable to walk more than a few steps.
She also twice developed sepsis and a fungal lung infection, before the kind-hearted student passed away, aged 18, in May 2020.
Since then, Ruby’s mum, Emma Jones, dad Dylan Fuller, sister Tabitha, and a legion of supporters, have been honouring her wishes to help other young people with cancer by fundraising in her memory, as well as for people to honour her memory by channelling her motto ‘Live kindly, live loudly’, which represents a legacy of kindness and for being brave and doing what’s right.
The family, from Gipsy Hill, set up Ruby’s Live Kindly Live Loudly Fund with CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association to support vital much-needed research into children’s T-cell blood cancer.
Emma, left of banner, during a fundraising event
Emma said:
Ruby felt very strongly that she wanted something to be supported in her name to improve outcomes for people faced with this sort of diagnosis in the future. In that last meeting with her consultant, they said, ‘I'm really sorry we haven't found a reliable cure or treatment for this kind of cancer, but I'm sure we will do in future’. And that was like a light bulb moment for Ruby. Hearing that there simply aren’t effective treatments yet made it very clear to us that if anything is going to change, it has to start with research. So, it feels really nice to be bringing people together to honour her wishes in that way.
The family has seen huge support since it was set up, with much of the fundraising being hugely influenced by Ruby’s passions, interests and personality, which Emma said is incredibly important to them.
Now, the fund has reached the huge milestone of £300,000 raised for CCLG through activities including auctions, comedy evenings, dinner parties hosted by the head chef of Wagamama’s – of which Ruby “was a big fan” – and sponsored challenges ranging from marathons to sky dives and abseils.
Emma said:
It's amazing to have hit that milestone. It's such a huge collective effort, with loads and loads of people involved in it, which is fabulous. It’s been incredibly heartening and means a huge amount to us. It helps us to know that she hasn't been forgotten. It makes you feel cared about.
Taking on the Tube Challenge
Emma has vowed to keep fundraising until they raise £500,000 for research and is planning to mark would have seen Ruby turn 25 in October with a special fundraiser that month, inspired by Ruby’s love for London and the Underground.
On October 30, Emma, Tabitha and a team of 14 others, including one of Ruby's cousins, her Godmother, several of her friends and another bereaved mother, will take on the Tube Challenge, which tasks people to visit all 272 stations on the Underground network within 24 hours.
Emma and Tabitha previously took on the challenge in 2021, but due to restrictions around COVID-19, several stations were close, while there have also been two new ones opened since.
Ruby on the Underground
Emma said:
I wanted to do something challenging but also something that felt very connected to Ruby. She loved working out the quickest route across the Underground network and would argue fiercely with you about the best route – and she was always right. She loved London and exploring it and that the Underground can take you anywhere you want to go across the capital. So, it seemed like a quirky fundraiser we could do while remembering Ruby. [When we did it before] there were two or three stations that were closed because of the pandemic, Kensington, Olympia and Heathrow Terminal 4, so we couldn't actually do the whole network. And since we did it, so many people have said, ‘That sounds so fun, and if you ever do it again, I’d love to join you’. We’re not aiming to break any records – it's mostly about fun and it's about remembering Ruby. It’ll be chaotic, but I’m looking forward to seeing how we get on. It's very much a day to remember Ruby.
Emma at start of previous tube challenge
Ashley Ball-Gamble, CEO of CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Emma, Dylan and Tabitha for the incredible efforts in memory of Ruby.
“The funds that they, and their supporters, have raised are helping us to fund and lead world-class research that will deliver real impact for children and young people diagnosed with blood cancer in the future.
“We wish everyone the best of luck for the Tube Challenge – I’m sure it will be eventful, but also a lot of fun, and most importantly, a touching way to remember Ruby.”