Two mums who became friends while working together in a Co-op store today reveal a moving Mother’s Day story like no other.
In the midst of tragedy, the pair have forged an astonishing agreement that goes far beyond the bounds of friendship.
When single mum Hayley Morse, 42, was told her breast cancer was terminal her one fear was what would happen to her only child, 11-year-old Lucy.
Her father isn’t a part of her life, and Hayley’s mum had died from breast cancer just months before.
In despair, she asked her daughter who she’d want to live with when she was gone. “I just wanted Lucy to feel she was part of the decision. She has lost her nan, she is going to lose me,” says Hayley. “And I wouldn’t want her to live with someone she’d not be happy with.”
Lucy, who had grown up witnessing the strong bond between her mum and pal Claire Way, had no hesitation. “She immediately said Claire,” says Hayley.
Claire, 46, a single mum herself with a 16-year-old daughter Grace, had been like an auntie to Lucy.
But Hayley knew asking her pal to look after her daughter would be a big test of their 25-year friendship. “When I asked her I knew she’d need to think about it, as it is such a huge commitment.”
But Hayley needn’t have worried. “I was thrilled when she agreed,” she says. “There is nothing more heartbreaking than knowing I won’t live to see Lucy get married or have kids. But I can’t think of anyone better to bring Lucy up and I know Claire will treat her like her own.”
For Claire, now a trainee teaching assistant, there was never any doubt. “I have always treated Lucy exactly the same as my daughter Grace,” she says.
“And I know if the boot was on the other foot Hayley would do the same for me. I couldn’t even begin to put myself in the situation Hayley is in. For them to even ask me was a big thing.
“After looking into everything that had to be done officially, the impact on my life and my daughter’s, we decided to go ahead. I knew it was the right thing to do. Lucy and Grace are already so close, it just made sense.
“What is happening to Hayley is so awful. This is the least I can do. It is just nice knowing I can help them.” Hayley was diagnosed in 2017 just a few months after her mum Mandy discovered she had the disease at Christmas 2016.
Hayley had felt a lump when showering. “In all honesty, I don’t think I’d have done anything about it if it hadn’t been for my mum’s diagnosis,” she says. Hayley had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital.
“The nurses at the oncology unit – especially Ellie Blaiklock and Debbie Henderson – were just amazing. I can’t thank them enough.
“But I had a bit of a breakdown,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why is it happening to me? Why has my mum got it? Why have I got it? What have I done to deserve this?’
“Every time I had chemotherapy I was so ill, I could barely look after myself, never mind Lucy, so she had to go and stay with friends.”
By February 2018, Hayley had completed her treatment and was trying to get on with her life in remission – going back to work and making up for lost time with Lucy. “But in early 2020 she suffered niggling aches and pains which made her go back to the doctor. “I was working as a cleaner,” she says. “I started to get out of breath when I got to the top of the stairs. In February 2021 I was referred for tests and they did a full body CT scan.
“When they rang me with the results they said they were referring me back to oncology – so I knew then what was coming.” Doctors told Hayley the stage four incurable cancer had spread through her entire skele-ton. Her only option was targeted treatment and palliative care.
She says: “They keep trying different tablets, but basically I am looking at not being here by the time my daughter is 18.”
After her diagnosis, Hayley phoned her mum to tell her the devastating news – only for Mandy to be told a few weeks later her own cancer had returned and spread to her brain.
Before Mandy died in August last year, Hayley caught Covid, so she couldn’t see her. She says: “Me and my mum spoke on the phone every day. I am devastated I never got to say goodbye. The day I finally tested negative I was packing my stuff to visit her when my dad rang to say she’d gone.”
With Lucy’s grandma gone and her father not part of her life, Hayley knew she had to start making plans for her girl’s future.
Now Hayley, Lucy, Claire and Grace already go on holiday together and are planning a trip to Disneyland Paris. They are also going through official paperwork to assign Claire as Lucy’s legal guardian. Hayley, who has bought cards for all of Lucy’s milestone birthdays and is filling a book with picture memories, says: “I have been open and honest with Lucy.
“She knows everything. But I know that with Claire and Grace, she’ll be in safe hands.”
Help Hayley make memories for her daughter at gofundme.com/f/making-memories-while-time-lets-us
