I don’t generally do personal shout outs on blogs. Everything is designed to publicise my clients rather than myself. However, this Saturday, 27 May 2017, I’m attempting to jog my way from London to Brighton – a whopping 100km – for The Christian Blandford Fund.
Christian is the exceptionally courageous son of my equally brave childhood friend, Claudia Blandford (née Parish) and her husband Peter.
Christian was diagnosed with a clear cell sarcoma of the kidney, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer, in January 2005 when he was just 18 months old.
After a secondary diagnosis, treatment, relapses and more treatment, not to mention masses of love and determination, Christian has now been out of remission since September 2012 and is a happy and healthy teenager.
The fund was started following Christian’s prolonged stay in the Pinckney ward of St George’s hospital, where the curtains were so thin, they offered no shade from the sun, so Claudia and Peter raised funds for black out blinds, and it built from there.
The aim of the Christian Blandford Fund is to improve the comfort of children and their families, particularly those affected by cancer, during prolonged stays in local NHS hospitals.
As a small charity, the fund focuses on the little things, that may seem small and insignificant, but can make such a difference to the children and their families.
Focusing its efforts mainly on St George’s hospital to date, the charity has provided the following:
- Accuvein scanners that make inserting cannulas much less traumatic and painful
- Wall mounted flat screen TVs and DVD players in the Pinckney Ward
- Laptops for patients and parents to use
- A new parents’ lounge in the Pinckney Ward
- A new nurses’ workstation, making their life much easier
- Hand held computer games, games consoles and games for use by Pinckney patients
- New sofa beds for parents
- Magnetic white boards and laminated posters for children to customise their rooms with familiar things
- A portable ultrasound machine to allow patients to be scanned on the ward. An expensive, but worthy investment
- Magazines for the dayroom which are delivered monthly to ensure a constant supply of fresh reading matter for quiet times
- An Information Pack to give new parents and patients on the wards easy access to all they need to know
- A visit from Father Christmas, who brought presents for all the children
- A significant contribution towards the new children’s garden, which will provide a much-needed sanctuary for patients, their siblings and their parents
I would be really grateful if you help me raise funds for such an amazing cause, inspired by an amazing boy.
BLURB: Through Virgin Money Giving, you can sponsor me and donations will be quickly processed and passed to charities. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity’s behalf where the donor is eligible for this. I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.
The Word Bird 