A courageous mother from Bowdon is the winner of the 2018 Cheshire Woman of the Year title

Impressive women from all walks of life gathered at the beautiful Eaton Park estate, Chester, the home of the Duke of Westminster, for the annual Cheshire Woman of the Year lunch. Nominees and special guests, including the former Lord Mayor of Chester Razia Daniels and BBC North West journalist, Annabel Tiffin, enjoyed a drinks reception while being entertained by Valerie Bracken and Trio, before sitting down for lunch in the Wolf Room.

Chair of the committee, Sylvia Cheater MBE, spoke about how many of the nominated women do not appreciate how outstanding a role model they are.

‘We worry each year that we won’t have enough nominations, but the response this year, as always, was amazing. You may not think you are very special, but someone else thinks you are and that’s why you have been nominated. It’s Cheshire’s chance to say “thank you”. You are all Cheshire’s Woman of the Year.’

However, there can only be one official winner, and this year the title was awarded to Lisa Kuhwald from Bowdon, near Altrincham. The mother of four boys, Oscar, 14, Casper, 12 and seven-year-old twins Felix and Herbie, Lisa has shown great courage, strength and resilience in the face of very tough times.

At the age of two, Felix was diagnosed with an incurable disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This progressive muscle-wasting disorder affects the heart and lungs and leads to premature death. Together with her husband, Karl, they set up Team Felix with the aim of funding research into Duchenne, to find viable treatments, and raising thousands of pounds for research.

Sadly in 2015, Karl died after being diagnosed with cancer. Since then, Lisa has not only held her family together, but with Karl and her boys as inspiration, she now runs the family business, continues to raise funds for Team Felix and works with the charity Duchenne UK, sitting on their Patient Advisory Board. She has recently become an Advocacy Support Officer.

Lisa, who dedicated her award to Karl and her sons, said: ‘Winning was something I just did not expect. Throughout it all I have always just looked forward, I don’t have a choice; I must fight to help Felix and others with Duchenne. The boys were all proud when I won, but typically as teenagers, they didn’t really have much to say! I have really enjoyed the day, and to be among other amazing ladies who have done so much is just awe-inspiring.’