Thank you for visiting my fundraising page for Jack's Star Tribute Fund supporting the Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Bristol Children's Hospital. I set the fund up through the Wallace & Gromit Grand Appeal in memory of my son, Jack, who died from a rare form of leukaemia on 23 July 2008, he was only 9. Since then I have been raising funds to help make life a little better for all those children I have met over the past years and sadly, for those who will be newly diagnosed in the future.
Various fundraising events have taken place over the past few years, with the most recent being done by Jack's brother, Joe, who, along with family and friends abseiled down the side of the Bristol Childrens Hospital raising over £1k.
Long term I am hoping Jack's fund will pay for a new modern playroom on the Oncology & BMT ward, a special place where children can spend time away from their hospital beds. Joe's abseil is the latest in many fundraising events that have happened over the past couple of years. You can read more about Jack's story and what has been happening with his fund below:
Jack was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia In November 2003, just aged 4. He underwent chemo and a bone marrow transplant in Feb 04, for which his brother, Joe, then aged 8, was the donor.
Following his tranplant, Jack remained in remission for over 2 years but in August 2006 he relapsed. He received further chemo from which he developed a life threatening fungal infection on his lungs. Miraculously Jack recovered from this and went on to find out that he was remission, however the lung infection had left him too weak to undergo a 2nd bone marrow transplant.
For just over a year Jack remained well but following a routine bone marrow test it was confirmed that Jack had relapsed a 2nd time. He had to undergo more chemo and radiotherapy and an unrelated donor was found for his 2nd bone marrow transplant. In May 2008 Jack was admitted for his transplant and spent 2 months in hospital. Jack developed pneumonia and had no immunity to fight anymore, he passed away on 23 July 2008 with myself and his dad beside him, holding his brother's hand.
Through all of this Jack remained a strong character, he had a wicked sense of humour and endless sense of fun. Our home feels so empty without him and I felt that I needed to do something positive out of something which has brought me and my family so much pain and sadness. I cannot thank Jack's Drs, Nurses and other hospital staff enough for the care that he received during all the time we spent at the hospital
Cancer is a terrible disease and it doesn't care who it takes as its victims.
We have already spent a small amount of Jack's fund:
- January 2011 we provided Wii fit boards for BMT to help encourage children out of bed, helping towards their recovery following a transplant and with their physio treatment
- January 2011 we received donated DVDs and Xbox 360 games which were used to update BMT and Daybed's library of films and games
- January 2010 we set up 'Captain Jack's Treasure Chest' - 3 'piratey' toy boxes for Oncology Daybeds, the Oncology Ward and the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. I keep these boxes full with toys so children can choose a special treat when they have to face unpleasant and scary medical procedures. This initiative has proved to be a huge success and my aim is to keep them well stocked every year so we'll just have to keep on fundraising!
- May 2010, two emergency palliative care bags were bought. These are lockable bags containing all the medication that is required for those children who require end of life care, enabling their family to be able to do this at home or a hospice.
There has been so many fundraising events since setting up Jack's fund and I've included just a few below:
Oct 08 - Jack's Uncle Scott organised a Cut-a-thon at the Graham Webb Hairdressing Academy in Washington, USA raising just over £4,000 - apparently Jack is now pretty well known in Washington as the Cut-a-thon was advertised on local radio stations and news channels!
March 09 - 'Team Jack' completed the Bath Half Marathon raising over £8,500. Also, 'Team Jack USA' completed the Washington DC Half Marathon raising just over £2,000.
Sept 09 - we held an 80's themed party raising a fantastic sum of £2,041.
23 July 10 - on the 2nd anniversary of Jack's death, Jack's school friends held a balloon release in his memory as it was their last day in year 6 before moving onto secondary school. It was a very moving tribute to Jack and I was so grateful to receive £88.38 in donations for Jack's fund.
Sept/Oct 10 - Bristol Half Marathon & Pirates themed party raised just over £4,000 taking Jack's fund over £30k.
April 2011 - my latest challenge was a tandem skydive which took place on 10 April 2011. I was joined by 5 other members of Team Jack who were willing and brave enough to throw themselves out of a plane at 10,000ft. We all had an amazing experience which we will never forget and most importantly raised over £2,500.
I cannot tell you how much it means to me when I see how much people have been, and still are, supporting Jack's fund and I would like to say a huge thank you to them all. He was truly a remarkable boy and we miss him every single second of every single day.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Royal Hospital For Children Bristol Appeal Limited gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Thank you for your support.
