Eve’s story

A young girl smiling and making a peace sign with her fingers inside a pink-walled room. The room has a window with pink curtains featuring flamingo designs, a swan-themed wall decor, and a dresser with a tray of small items.

On the 16th April 2020 our lives changed forever.  After months of Eve feeling unwell with headaches and sickness at the age of 9 years old, she was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma.  Medulloblastoma is the second most common malignant (high grade) brain tumour in children.

Eve’s tumour was standard risk, so the treatment plan was surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. From April 2020 to May 2021 our days were spent at the Queens Medical Centre Nottingham.  It was a long road, but the future was looking good.

After just under a year Eve was now declared cancer free.  We began piecing our lives back together and enjoying life as a family again.

Tragically, in September 2022 on a routine scan we were told that Eve had relapsed, resulting in heart-breaking news for any parent or child as the treatment was to start all over again.

From January 2023 to July 2024, Eve received chemotherapy to keep the tumour under control, her consultant made the decision now was time to be able to receive radiotherapy again, this time in Birmingham.  We were feeling so hopeful with this next step in Eve’s journey.

Our lives were turned upside down yet again in August 2024 just before Eve was to start radiotherapy.  She had now developed AML Leukaemia – this had been caused by the chemotherapy she had been taking.

This would now mean a complete change in treatment with the priority now focused on AML Leukaemia. We now knew that she would have the biggest fight, the treatment became fierce and she became tired, something we never saw in her whole four years of fighting this.

Sadly we lost our beautiful Eve on November 4th 2024 aged 13 years.

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About Eve

We would never want Eve to be defined by cancer; she was so much more than that.  She had the most amazing spirit and determination through her whole treatment.  She wanted to live a normal life around it all, so we did.  When Eve could go to school, she went and she loved nothing more than being with her friends.  She didn’t talk about her ‘tumour’ to her friends, not because she was ashamed but because she was a normal teenage girl enjoying life.

Eve was bright, she loved to learn, and she gave 100 percent in everything she did.  Her favourite subjects were History and Art.  She enjoyed reading, writing stories and sudoku.

Eve loved to spend time with her family, one of her Eve’s favourite places was York at Halloween - we would spend hours queuing at the Ghost Emporium Shop.

Eve loved to craft and we would spend hours making bead art pictures.  Eve also enjoyed Lego, we were often on the ward in hospital building the next masterpiece.

Eve’s witty sense of humour, her infectious laugh and her beautiful smile were why people loved to be around her.  She was a true inspiration to us all.

Eve showed remarkable strength right to the end, it’s with this strength as a family we will use to honour Eve’s memory.

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Family of four posing on a bridge with the Tower Bridge in London in the background on a sunny day.

How it started

Eve’s Uncle Richard (now a trustee) spoke to Eve in August 2024 about doing a challenge to raise money so Eve could do something special and support the charities that supported us as a family through Eve’s treatment.  Richard decided that his challenge would be to walk 1000 miles from January 2025-November 2025.  This was going to consist of every UK Ultra Challenge and a few other walks to make the miles up!

From that moment 1000 Miles for 1000 Smiles was born, Eve was proud that her Uncle would want to do this to help others like herself.  We were looking forward to following him on his journey around the country!

Sadly, Eve died a few months later and she would never see Richard start this challenge – but this made Richard even more determined to complete this challenge in her memory.

January came and the first walk started in London, Richard did this walk with his Wife Sarah and five other friends, he thought he would have a few people walking with him through the year but never expected what was to come!

Over the coming months, more and more family and friends joined the walks and the whole of the community of Ashbourne and beyond got behind our Fundraising.

Richard completed 27 walks around the country in under a year, raising over £100,000, after supporting all the charities we knew what we had to do next.  We wanted to create a legacy in Eve’s name because she absolutely deserves that.

So, in January 2025, 1000 Miles for 1000 Smiles became The Eve Shipley Trust and now a registered charity. We support children from 0-18 years, receiving treatment for a brain tumour at the Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham. We provide a gift or an experience to these children and we know it makes a huge difference to them and their families.

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Four runners holding a 'Finisher' sign after completing the London Brighton 2 Ultra Challenge, standing in front of a large finish banner with event details.
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Four men standing outdoors on a dirt area with a fence and scenic landscape in the background. They are wearing casual hiking clothes, backpacks, and sunglasses.
Group of five men standing in front of a banner that says "FINISHER POWER PENINSULA ULTRA CHALLENGE," each wearing medals, with one holding a sign that reads "FULL CHALLENGE FINISHER." They are outdoors at a race event.
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Young girl in hospital bed smiling, wearing a pink headscarf and pink shirt, with medical equipment nearby.
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Three men standing in front of a large banner that says "FINISHER THAMES PATH ULTRA CHALLENGE" and holding a sign that says "100KM." They are smiling, wearing medals, and dressed in athletic gear, celebrating completing the ultra challenge.
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A young child with a shaved head in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital wristband, smiling at a table with colorful beaded necklaces and an open coloring book.
A young girl with glasses, wearing a denim jacket and white sneakers, is sitting at a picnic table outdoors, smiling at the camera. A large black Labrador retriever dog with its tongue out is sitting in front of her. In the background, there are colorful murals of jungle animals and the words 'Sand World,' as well as a few other people seated at picnic tables under a red umbrella.
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