Take on the world

10

Cassidy: Her Story

Max, has been throwing himself into piles of logistics and data, constantly trying to just not be in the house, and he's constantly pushing himself, and part of that, is because he hasn't really let himself, feel the pain of losing her, but he also wants to win the championship for her. - Christian Horner.

Cassie was my best friend, she lit up the world, and she became a sister to me, so losing her felt like losing part of me, but her story lives on, and she remains with all of us. - Clary

When Cassie and I got married, we didn't get married because of her being sick, we got married because we love each other, and it just felt right like we were meant to be together, we knew we wouldn't have much time together, but we didn't care, we were just two people in love, and thankfully her parents gave me their blessing to ask her. - Max

"Mummy! Look! Daddy's on TV!" a small brunette haired child yelled out, as she watched Christian on the TV as they watched the Monaco grand prix, she smiled as Geri walked in, holding her youngest daughter Bluebell as they sat on the couch and watched the race.

She was mad for Formula 1, she always begged her dad to take her to the races, and it broke my heart when we had to tell her no, she always wanted to go, and eventually we allowed her to go to the Red Bull Racing factory, and that's how she and Max met. - Geri.

Olivia and Montague don't really understand, but, I knew that Cassie was sick, and she was constantly trying to be brave, for us, and losing her, it made you realise how much she meant to you, whether you knew her or not. - Bluebell

Max was sat in one of the back paddocks, where he and Cassie had got married, as he looked at his wedding ring, and he smiled softly at the sight of the silver band on his hand.

Cassie and I got married here, and it was a really special day, it's just hard her being gone, she always wanted to be remembered as this woman who gave her all, in everything she did. - Max

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"The hospital, well cancer ward wanted me to do a video diary of my life in like these early stages of treatment, and I know that it's not going to get better, with the cancer, and my brain shrinking because of my illness, this is really the story of how I'm spending my life in the final months or years that I have left, and I'm not going to spend them in the dark or inside."  - Cassie in her video diary.

Cassie, she made these video diaries, of her feelings and she got each of us to speak in them, but it never gave us comfort, it just seemed to help ease us into the fact that we would have these videos and we could look back on them, and really see how each treatment, each day, each week, each month took its toll on her, but she was still so strong - Geri

Geri was sat with Christian and they were going through pictures of Cassie from when she was younger and they laughed as they saw her in her kart, that she would drive at night, "She loved her racing kart, she loved watching formula 1 and she lived for the adrenaline, even though she couldn't go outside and watch them in person, every weekend, she was watching the grand prix and shouting at the TV encouraging Max, and of course she would call you and always be excited." Geri recalled as Christian nodded his head.

"She was always wearing redbull racing merch around the house, didn't matter if it was off season, she practically lived in it, and she was just unique in her own way." Christian added as he looked through some of the pictures.

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Clary was sat on one of the fences as she looked at the sunsetting, she hated feeling alone ever since Cassie had died, so she had taken to staying in the guest room, she had also formed a sisterly bond with Bluebell, Olivia and Montague, knowing Cassie would want her to be there for her siblings.

Losing Cassie, it was hard. It was always Cassie and Clary, never one without the other, and then for her to be gone, we met when we were four years old in nursery, and we had been inseperable ever since, and then she got diagnosed with Xeroderma Pigmentosum, then brain cancer and then her brain began to shrink, and it was, it was the toughest thing I ever witnessed, seeing my best friend become a shell of who she was, but she never lost her sense of humour. Then she met Max and I had never seen her so happy, like she belonged with him, which she did, and then they got married, and then it hit me, that she had found the love of her life, but because of the hand she got dealt, she was going to lose it all, in a matter of months. - Clary

Clary wiped her eyes as she headed inside, she soon picked up Montague kissing his head, "Hey, buddy, you seen Max?" She asked the younger boy who nodded his head.

Seeing her interacting with Cassie's siblings, it makes me grateful that Cassie had a best friend like her, and so, both Clary and I promised Cassie we would look out for her parents, siblings and each other, it's all she wanted us to do, and all she wanted to do was make sure we were okay, when she was the one in pain. - Max

"I hope that Max and Clary, honour their promise, and that they do look out for each other, because with me gone, they're going to need each other, and I don't want them to try and grieve on their own, when I could have done something, so this is my final gift, I guess, to them, I don't want them to be alone, I want them to look out for each other, because they're family." - Cassie, a few hours before her death.

Cassidy Verstappen
20.02.1999-23.04.2018