A WORCESTER schoolgirl has received a medal from a national charity after raising more than £1,000 baking cakes in memory of her dad.
Twelve-year-old Evie Stennett, who attends Royal Grammar School in Worcester, lost her much-loved dad, Bazil Stennett, in January this year after a tragically short battle with cancer.
Staff from Cancer Research UK presented Evie with a medal and certificate to mark her fund-raising achievement – and then sat down to share one of Evie’s delicious celebratory cakes.
Evie – a fan of The Great British Bake Off – has been baking since her dad’s funeral where she put out a notice for mourners announcing her plan to sell cakes to raise money for research.
Baz had not realised the backaches which troubled him were a symptom of lung cancer. It was only when he was admitted to hospital as an emergency in December 2021 that his cancer was discovered.
Baz started working as a painter and decorator after retiring as a prison officer. He was also really busy with his allotment, so it was easy to dismiss his aches and pains as muscle strains from physical work.
It was only when Baz became suddenly very ill in December 2021, having difficulty breathing and even moving, that he was rushed to hospital and found to have fluid around his heart.
Further scans revealed he had lung cancer which had spread to other areas of his body.
Evie’s mum, Susanah Stennett, described how staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital pulled out all the stops to get
Baz home for one last Christmas with his wife and daughter.
“Baz came home on Christmas Eve, with a lot of equipment and medication to keep him comfortable,” she said. “We were so glad to just have him home, and to enjoy that Christmas together, despite the situation.
“Evie and I were lucky enough to have him with us for nearly a month before he deteriorated rapidly at the end of January.
“There were only seven weeks between Baz’s diagnosis and death, so it was obviously a huge shock to all of us. But he was such a cheerful, active man, he would have hated things to be drawn out and desperate – so in many ways it was a mercy that it was quick.”
Susanah says Evie’s baking exploits would have delighted her dad, who encouraged her interest in baking by buying her a large stand mixer like those used on her favourite programme.
The local Cancer Research UK committee presented Evie with a medal and certificate to thank her and celebrate her achievement.
Call 0300 123 1022 or visit cruk.org for more.
