BEFORE we look ahead to the 2026 Hailsham Hero Awards, it feels important to pause and reflect on what the awards are truly about, why they exist, what they represent and the kinds of stories and people they are designed to honour.
At their heart, the Hailsham Hero Awards recognise quiet courage, resilience and the extraordinary ways individuals, families and organisations support one another through life’s most difficult moments.
Few stories embody that spirit more clearly than that of Rubie Geer.
Rubie is 12 years old. She is a twin, the youngest by just one minute, and the youngest of four children. She loves pizza, art, sewing plushies and eating out with her mum. Together, they’ve made a tradition of visiting a different local pub every Sunday to sample roast dinners, gradually working their way through the area. Rubie also dreams big: she would love to live in America or Canada one day, and she wants to be a surgeon.
Three years ago, none of this was certain.
Rubie was just nine when she was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer. By the time she was finally taken seriously at A&E, she was critically ill. The cancer had caused lymph nodes around her heart, lungs and windpipe to overgrow. Her left lung had completely collapsed, and her heart was surrounded by fluid. She was, quite simply, dying.
A specialist cardiac team was brought down from London, and Rubie was transferred to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital and then to the pediatric intensive care unit at St George’s, Tooting. She spent three weeks there while doctors worked to stabilise her condition. A heart drain and chest drain were inserted, and seven litres of fluid were removed from her tiny body, a figure that still stops her family in their tracks when they say it out loud.
What followed was not a short or straightforward treatment. Although Rubie’s cancer is a lymphoma, it is treated using the leukaemia pathway, a long, gruelling process. The initial phase involved six to seven months of intensive treatment, with three, four, sometimes five different chemotherapy drugs each week. That was followed by two years of so-called ‘maintenance’ treatment.
From the outside, maintenance can sound like things are easing. In reality, it meant monthly hospital visits for intravenous chemotherapy alongside daily chemotherapy medication at home. It was during this phase that Rubie lost her hair and began to experience some of the long-term side effects that would continue even after treatment ended.
During this already exhausting journey, Rubie developed a severe fungal lung infection that spread to her spleen and kidneys. It took two months for doctors to identify what was wrong. At one point, her temperature reached 44 degrees, and it could not be brought down. That treatment has only recently been completed.
Alongside all of this, Rubie missed two full years of school. When she eventually returned, she didn’t just catch up — she excelled, smashing her SATs and impressing teachers with her determination and maturity.
As a rare side effect of the chemotherapy drugs Rubie was given, she developed avascular necrosis, bone death, in her hip. The condition causes severe pain and has limited her mobility, forcing her to give up many of the activities she loved, including gymnastics.
Next month, Rubie will undergo a hip replacement using a custom-built hip and socket, designed specifically for her. For her family, it represents one of the final barriers between Rubie and a future with less pain, more freedom, and the chance at a more normal life.
When Rubie couldn’t see friends in person, she built an online community instead, joining livestreams and moderating chats on Roblox so she could stay connected. When she couldn’t walk far, she swam. When she couldn’t go out, she created, drawing and sewing soft toys. Through it all, she kept talking about what she wanted to do next, not what she had lost.
During a recent meeting over pizza, Rubie’s mum spoke candidly about how the illness affected not just Rubie, but the whole family. She also spoke movingly about the role played by Children With Cancer Fund, who supported them at a time when she didn’t know where to turn or what to do next.
“They gave us a little pocket of joy in the middle of when there was none,” she said.
Most recently, the charity arranged a short break to London for Rubie and her mum, a quiet weekend away from hospital appointments and daily pressures. They stayed in a hotel overlooking the city, ordered room service, and simply enjoyed being together.
The connection between Rubie’s family and the community around them runs deep. Rubie’s brother Brodie now works for the Children With Cancer Fund, handling their finances — the charity deliberately employs people with lived experience. When Rubie attended the Hailsham Hero Awards ceremony to receive her own Outstanding Young Person Award, her mum described it as an evening surrounded by familiar faces and shared stories.
That night, the Children With Cancer Fund were also recognised, winning Charity of the Year. The White Hart, run by a family friend, won Business Contribution of the Year. And Rubie’s mum had recently joined Hailsham Bonfire Society, who took home the Group/Organisation Award. “It felt like all my worlds had come together,” she said.
Pictured: Rubie accepting her Outstanding Young Person Award at the Hailsham Heroes in November 2025, sponsored by Yes Promo Ltd
As we begin inviting nominations for the 2026 Hailsham Hero Awards, Rubie’s story is a powerful reminder of what these awards exist to recognise.
Anyone who wishes to support Rubie can visit: https://gofund.me/fc9296a5b
News on the forthcoming Hailsham Hero Awards will be announced soon.
