More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A woman who refused to give up her job while battling with cancer has been recognised for her resilience.
On day seven of kmfm's Make Someone's Christmas, Danielle Cooper from Rainham received a surprise call from drivetime presenter Rob Wills, who revealed she will be getting a very special present this year.
The 39-year-old was nominated by her husband, Nick after a difficult 12 months.
He said: "Christmas 2018 - my wife got diagnosed with bowel cancer at 38. She had major surgery in January, followed by six months of gruelling chemo.
"We have two young kids and so she battled through and never gave up.
"Danielle kept working as a hairdresser as she didn't want to let her clients down, and was still an amazing mum and wife.
"She is now okay and has applied to be a volunteer for Macmillan to help other cancer patients. Amazing."
During the call with Rob, Danielle spoke about being diagnosed with cancer.
She said: "It was not a good year. When we got the news it was awful and hit us like a tonne of bricks - as you imagine."
Danielle had to somehow tell her two children, Jake, 13 and Bella, 6, what was happening.
"We told the kids mummy is poorly and would have to go into hospital. My son, Jake had an idea of what was going on but they were amazing. They're the ones who got me through it all and got me up every day", she said.
"I worked through the chemo and my clients kept me going. They were all so positive and lovely."
Marrying her husband in February, shortly after the chemotherapy, Danielle got the all clear a couple of months ago.
After receiving lots of support from Medway Macmillan, Danielle is now set to join the team, with her volunteer training due to begin in January.
She added: "Something positive has to come out of such a horrible time I guess and it's my way of giving back.
"All the Medway Macmillan staff were absolutely amazing and I want to be part of the team. It's such an amazing charity."
Danielle then found out she will be getting a family Merlin pass on behalf of kmfm and McArthurGlen Ashford Designer Outlet.
The pass gives access to more than 30 attractions around the country including Thorpe Park, the London Eye and Legoland.
Danielle said: "That's amazing -thank you so much. The kids will absolutely love that - that's really generous."
Make Someone's Christmas is in its fifth year and aims to surprise 10 people in Kent over two weeks.
After receiving hundreds of nominations, seven surprise calls have now been made. Tune into kmfm tomorrow at 6pm to hear the next call.
