Mrs Marshall has chosen to go without coffee for the month of September in order to raise funds for the Children’s Tumour Foundation.
The foundation has supported the Marshall family, and in particular Meg’s five year-old son Eddie who has NF type 1.
It is an incurable genetic condition that can cause tumours to grow on any nerve cell throughout the body, including the brain and spinal cord.
Mrs Marshall said the no coffee challenge has proved far more difficult than she first thought it would.
‘‘I usually drink coffee every day, and most days I have more than one,’’ she said.
‘‘We just bought a new coffee machine a couple of months ago. We have this new toy sitting there and we can’t use it.
‘‘You get headaches and everything with the withdrawals and I even have friends asking tongue in cheek if I want to go for a coffee.
‘‘While it seems like a small challenge, it is actually something the kids can physically see me do, which is the main message of this.
‘‘They’re so used to seeing me have a coffee each day and they have noticed that I haven’t had one.
‘‘Eddie is at the age now where he can remember these things and while it doesn’t come close to what he has gone through and still has to go through, I want to show him that I am doing this to support him.’’
Meg’s husband Adam is also participating in the challenge by proxy, with Mrs Marshall refusing to buy more coffee beans until the challenge is complete.
‘‘Adam finished off the previous bag of coffee beans earlier in the month, so by default he has had to give up too,’’ she said with a laugh.
‘‘We bought the new coffee machine as a final purchase before he had to get surgery on his ankle and we can’t wait to use it again.’’
To support Meg in her challenge, go to https://www.ctf.org.au/my-fundraising/398/eddies-village.
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