Tomorrow, she will be at Wembley to watch Spennymoor Town in the FA Trophy final in support of her husband and the club’s manager, Graeme.
Gemma, 44, has defied the odds and doctors’ expectations since her heartbreaking diagnosis in 2019.
Shortly after learning she had a stage four brain tumour, nurses visited to arrange a trip to a local hospice and to discuss palliative care.
But six years on, Gemma, mum of Grayson, 12, and 10 year-old Hadley, remains “stable”, positive and strong.
“She gives me the strength to carry on through everything,” says Graeme.
“Just how she gets through everything she has to. She wakes up everyday and despite what’s happening, it never stops her. She’s still here to keep me right.
“She obviously has bad days but her strength makes it easier for me. We’ve never dwelled on it or sat and felt sorry for ourselves.
“We’ve just always looked at our options or searched for a solution or how we can help the situation. That’s probably why she’s still here, that mindset.”
There’s another reason why there’ll be extra emotion attached to tomorrow’s final for Graeme.
Before the game, he will spread the ashes of his dad, Tony, a non-league legend, on the Wembley pitch.
Tony, who was a much-loved non-league stalwart and hugely successful manager at various clubs, including Spennymoor, died two years ago, aged 75, after a long battle with illness.
Tony famously led Whitby Town to the second round proper of the FA Cup in the 1983/84 season, and twice took Billingham Synthonia to the first round.
And he’ll be at the forefront of Graeme’s mind tomorrow.
“I’m sure my dad would be very proud,” said Graeme, 46, who himself has defied the odds in leading Spennymoor of National League North to the FA Trophy final, beating three teams from the league above along the way.
“If he was still here I’m sure he’d be sat right behind the dugout telling me exactly what I should and shouldn’t be doing, but also, most importantly, giving me advice.
“That’s one thing I do miss, knowing how he would have guided me. In little moments in games, I’m sure he probably is guiding me.
“He came close in these competitions a couple of times and I’m sure he’d be dancing up there. I’ve got some ashes to sprinkle on Wembley for him. We put some outside the house and some at Spenny.
“I’ve been saving some for the right moment and I just think if that’s his final resting place he’d be a happy man.”
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As a player, Graeme started out at Hartlepool and went on to make more than 500 senior appearances in the game, finishing at Darlington.
He turned to coaching after his retirement as a player and spent a decade at Middlesbrough academy, working his way up to become Under-23s boss.
But he always wanted to be a first team manager and was encouraged by Gemma to take the Hartlepool job when the opportunity presented itself in 2021, despite her diagnosis two years earlier.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy failed to shrink the growth in Gemma’s brain but she’s responded incredibly well to a trial drug, ONC201, which was initially costing the family £5,000 a month but is now prescribed for free.
“My number one priority is obviously my wife and my kids,” says Graeme.
“We’ve tried to give them as much of a normal upbringing as we can while this is going on with their mam.
“We feel like we’re achieving that. My son turns 13 in a couple of weeks and Gemma gets emotional about that because she didn’t think she’d get to see that.
“It is tough. She has moments where she needs me. More than anything right now she’s more concerned about making sure she’s at Wembley. She’ll be there. All the family are coming down.
“She sees how hard I work and she keeps telling me good things are coming my way, and hopefully with this she’s right.
“She’s always been so supportive of my football. Going for the Hartlepool job and knowing how full on that would ultimately be, she said straight away, ‘go for it’.
“I always have to make sure family comes first, but she’s so supportive and knows how hard I work and how passionate I am about football.
“Ultimately football helps me. It gives me something to focus on. You could just sit at home and think about things too much.
“We try to get on with life and make the best of it and football has always been my life since being a kid.
“If I didn’t have this I think it would make the situation a lot harder. It does act like a distraction, but at the same time, I probably have more sleepless nights over football than my wife these days because of how well she’s doing.
“When you achieve moments like this, you have to cherish them.”
Graeme is hoping for a Spennymoor Crystal Palace double at Wembley over the course of the next week.
When he was in charge of Hartlepool, he made it to the fifth round of the FA Cup, where his side came up against Palace at Selhurst Park.
At the time, Graeme and Gemma were fundraising to help with the cost of treatment and Palace and the Premier League club’s fans donated £80,000.
Graeme has kept a close eye on Crystal Palace’s results since and Oliver Glasner’s side face Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley next Saturday, six days after Spennymoor’s appearance at the national stadium.
“Everything they did for Gemma and the family, it was a massive thing for us and something I’ll never forget,” says Graeme.
“That gave Gemma 18 months worth of medication, which is beyond football. It was costing us £5,000 a month at the time.”
Graeme was appointed Spennymoor’s boss in January last year after a short spell in charge of Marske United.
“There was another offer on the table, but I’d already made my mind up on Spenny,” he says,
“Obviously my dad was manager here and he passed that year, so that was massive.
“That just felt right, and it still feels right. It’s a great club, great town, great people who all want what’s best for the club.
“I know my dad will be with me on Sunday. And for Gemma to be there is just amazing.”
