A young mother has died just six weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, leaving her husband and two children to face Christmas without their mom.
Ella Troup, from Melbourne, was given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and died during an operation to fight the disease, leaving husband Ben and their children Ollie, 1, and Leo, 3, devastated.
Her friends, family and colleagues at furniture and homewares firm GlobeWest — where she was a product manager — have come together to raise funds for the grieving family. So far more than $120,000 in donations have flooded in.
“Very few people knew that Ella had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer just six weeks ago,” friends Jordan MacLeod and Krystal Cameron wrote on the fundraising page.
“She had a hard fight to find the primary source when she unexpectedly lost the battle during a procedure.
“We want to provide Ben and her boys with as much support as we can and this is one way we are able to.
“If you can give, no matter how big or small, it will help contribute towards keeping the boys going while they grieve.”
On Monday, Ben — who had been married to Ella for four years — broke his silence on social media, sharing a slow-motion video of Ella running towards the ocean, set to the song, Just Like Heaven by The Lumineers.
Troup’s employer GlobeWest donated $30,000 to the crowdfunding page.
One of the family’s local coffee shops, Down The Street, shared a tribute on Facebook, writing: “Last week we received the devastating news that our beautiful customer Ella passed away.
“Ella, Ben and their little boys have been apart of our community for years, and we are heartbroken for her family and friends.”
Another friend shared the fundraising page to their social media, saying: “This beautiful family was torn apart by cancer a few days ago, when our beautiful friend Ella lost her battle.
“She has left these two little boys without a mom and a loving husband without a wife. Heartbroken doesn’t quite describe the pain.”
One of the comments on the fundraising page described Ella as “sunshine personified.”
“Although it’s decades since we’ve known each other, it’s been a joy to follow your journey from afar. Your family is all the more strong, because of you.”