Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

From the 28th September until the 10th October this year I shall be cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats in aid of CLIC Sargent.

Last year our friends son Ollie was diagnosed with Leukaemia at the age of 4.  The amazing strength and courage he and his family have shown since his diagnosis has been truly remarkable and I wanted to show my own suppport and emphasise the invaluable work of CLIC Sargent.

Ollie's story, told by his mum Kylie below, clearly emphasises the important work that CLIC Sargent do in supporting children and their familes suffering from these terrible illnesses.  Please take the time to read their story and if you feel you can help me in raising my £3,000 target for CLIC Sargent please make a donation by clicking on the link below - small or large, every penny helps!

Kylie says....  "Being told that your child has an illness like Leukaemia is the worst thing that could ever happen.  It is life changing and emotionally and physically straining on the whole family.  Without the help of CLIC and all the wonderful people that they fund, this whole experience would have been far more difficult to deal with.

Ollie was diagnosed on February 6^th 2009 at the RD&E Hospital, Exeter at 4 years old.  Ollie was complaining of severe back pain.  In hospital, blood tests, x-rays and MRI scans showed nothing worrying.  We went home, but Ollie’s back pain got worse so we went back in for further tests.  Another blood test was carried out and this time the bloods were worrying low.  We were prepared by the doctor that Oliver could possibly have Leukaemia which a further blood test confirmed.

Immediately, the Paediatric Oncology Consultant and the CLIC Nurse Specialist (funded by CLIC Sargent) in Exeter came and talked things through with Mike and myself.  Ollie would need just over three years of chemotherapy and arrangements had to be made for our older son Alex as we would need to make our way to the Oncology Unit at the Royal Bristol Children’s Hospital for at least four weeks. They were concerned about what we would do with Alex and asked if they could help in any way.  Fortunately, we were lucky to have my family who we knew Alex would be happy staying with.  A CLIC Nurse Specialist would be there for us every step of the way and we could contact her at any time with any questions.

Bristol had their own team of consultants, doctors and a CLIC Nurse Specialist.  Again, during our stay in Bristol our CLIC Nurse Specialist would be there for us every step of the way.  Once we had settled into Bristol and knew what was to happen over the next 28 days, a CLIC Sargent Social Worker visited.  She was there to help us with things like contacting our work for us, our mortgage providers and sorting that end of things for us (luckily Mike had his own business and his partner was dealing with that so our mortgage was ok).  CLIC House (which is a shared house for the parents and families of children with cancer and Leukaemia to stay whilst the children are in Bristol so you do not have to commute) was arranged. We found that talking to the other families and sharing our stories and feelings helped, but most of all, for us both to be able to stay and be close to Ollie was great and such a relief.  There was also a free taxi service that we could call to take mothers straight to CLIC House safely.  For me, having Mike so close by and be with us all the time helped a great deal.  Alex could have also stayed and he could have attended the school in the hospital if we had wished, but again, with advice from the CLIC Social Worker and Nurse Specialist, we decided that life should carry on as normal as possible for him and so he continued to stay with my mum.  He did, however, join us in the half term for nearly the whole week and was able to stay at CLIC House which he actually really enjoyed.

CLIC Sargent gave us a cheque to help with parking, fuel and food (because one of the steroids the children are put on makes them eat for England and it can be rather expensive as they have particular tastes!). Our holiday to Florida had to be cancelled and they made sure the money wasn’t lost.  We were all offered counselling (including Alex) should we feel that we needed it.    The social worker gave us books to read with Alex to explain the situation to him without frightening him and gave us a lot of guidance on how to deal with Alex and how he may be feeling.

CLIC offer holiday cottages and caravans around the country, free of charge.  This is to give you all a break and it is somewhere that you know will be clean and safe for Oliver.

Oliver was in remission after two weeks and we were able to return to Exeter hospital.  Being together at home as a family again and go into Exeter for the treatment as and when necessary.

Again, our CLIC Nurse Specialist is there for us whenever we need her. We have a community based CLIC Nurse Specialist and she comes out to the house or to Oliver’s school to take his bloods each week.  Again, making life so much easier.  Ollie loved the Oncology team like a 2nd family, if he was down they gave him gifts or teddy to cheer him up".

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate as much as you can now.

Many thanks,

Ian