Team Rough are rallying round after Alison Rough was diagnosed with both MS and cancer.
Alison, the mother of Katie Rough, the seven year old girl who was killed in York eight years ago this month, has described her latest travails as “a run of bad luck”.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and thyroid cancer at the end of 2023.
That news came on top of a traumatic few years for the family. It was 9 January 2017 when they lost Katie. She was killed by a teenager in the Woodthorpe area of the city, close to a housing estate.
A 16-year-old later admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility following the attack.
To this day, the family struggles to come to terms with the loss. Alison told YorkMix, “It’s really difficult, it just doesn’t get any easier at all.”
Since the death of their daughter, the family have participated in many fundraisers for Team Rough – Katie’s Legacy, including sponsored walks, the Great North Run, and new hair cuts.
Katie’s older brother, Kieran Rough, was unable to be as involved as he’d have liked, due to being stationed in the army.
The 27-year-old has now left the army and wants to do his bit for those who have supported his Mum.
So he’s embarking on a skydive in May to raise money for the York, Ryedale & District Group MS Society.
Living without Katie
Reflecting on the last eight years, Alison told YorkMix that it doesn’t get any easier with time.
“Sometimes you think it gets worse in some ways, especially when you come up to things like birthdays,” she said.
After eight years of grieving, Alison has only recently managed to bring herself to start counselling.
“It’s helping just to speak about the things that I’ve not been able to. It’s just when people are ready to do so, and for some people like me, it takes a long time,” she said.
Alison’s feelings are still raw, and the trauma manifests in her everyday life.
“Just today, I couldn’t get in touch with my son, and I was panicking. I still have those feelings of panic if I feel like something’s going wrong.
“There was nothing going wrong, he was just at work. But in those moments I’m right back there, right back at that day, in that panic again,” she explained.
Alison and her family have no choice but to carry on with their lives, for the sake of the children and the grandchildren, but difficult moments can come when she least expects it.
“It can be a song on the radio, it can be a little girl in a rainbow uniform, it can just be anything that you wouldn’t expect it to be.
“Anything can take you back there. Your mind is a strange thing, and it can always be a second away from that thought,” she told YorkMix.
Katie is remembered by those who knew her as a sweet, cheeky little girl, who loved reading, poetry and word searches.
“If we were in the city centre and she saw somebody sitting on the ground, she would give them sweeties,” Alison added.
Double diagnosis
Amid the ongoing grief, Alison Rough was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and thyroid cancer at the end of 2023.
In what she describes as “a bit of a run of bad luck”, Alison received the letter in October 2023 from the hospital, stating that they had found a lesion in the top of her spinal cord and a tumour on her thyroid.
Alison already had arthritis, chronic disc degeneration in her spine, and bilateral sciatica. Then doctors performed a routine scan to check on her arthritis.
“It was quite frightening, I think myself and my husband, we sort of bounced between being worried about the spine and then worried about the thyroid. We weren’t quite sure which one to be worried about the most,” she added.
As there were no initial signs of either, Alison feels incredibly lucky that doctors had managed to trace them both early on.
She said: “I had no idea that I had MS or thyroid cancer because there weren’t any signs. The signs of the MS I was putting down to my arthritis in my spine, because they’re similar. And the thyroid cancer, there was no signs at that point whatsoever.”
Alisons thyroid was removed on 21 December 2023, which meant she was cancer free.
In January 2024, she had further brain scans as well as a lumbar puncture, and started treatment for the MS in March 2024.
‘They’ve made MS seem less scary’
The York, Ryedale & District Group MS Society have been a lifeline for Alison and her family since her diagnosis, which is why Kieran was so keen to fundraise for the group.
They have regular coffee mornings, as well as weekly zoom meetings that include activities like armchair yoga.
“If you’re worried about anything, you can put it on the Facebook page. There’s always somebody there, one of the other members,” Alison said.
When Alisons speech began to deteriorate slightly, members of the group quickly reassured her.
“The MS nurses at York Hospital are amazing, and the consultants are brilliant as well, but obviously you can’t see them day to day. These people are here all the time,” she said.
For Alison, the support she’s received from the group has made her MS seem a lot less scary.
Kieran’s SkyDive
Kieran will take to the skies on 4 May as part of a fundraising event for the York, Ryedale & District Group MS Society.
“They asked for volunteers to do the sponsored skydive, and Kieran said ‘yep, I want to do that, they’ve really helped my mum,’” Alison said.
Kieran shared to his fundraising page, “The MS society has been a godsend for us, they have made mum’s diagnosis seem less scary.
“They also have regular coffee mornings and other social outings and meet up for MS patients but also for their carers to have a little respite. They also help with work and benefit issues.”
Oliver’s run
Inspired by his Uncle Kieran, Alison’s grandson Oliver has also expressed an interest in helping his Grandma.
At 9 years old, Oliver has pledged to complete a 5k run to raise money for the MS society.
“He wanted to join in the fundraising. Now, obviously he’s much too young to skydive, so he’s going to do a 5k run!” Alison revealed.
Oliver’s run will also take place in May, the same month as the skydive.
“He was two when we lost Katie. So he’s gone through a lot at such a young age,” Alison told YorkMix.
Oliver has always remembered his Grandma as being poorly due to the arthritis, and as he’s gotten a bit older and understands sponsorship and learned about MS, “he just wants to do something,” she added.
The youngster is reportedly very excited to get involved.
For more information on Kieran’s skydive and Oliver’s 5K run, or to make a donation, click here.