I've named this page 'Harry's Fund' in honour of my late father, who passed away in the expert care of the nurses and doctors of James Cook Hospital on the 1st of October 2014.

My dad was suffering from an aggressive and incurable form of cancer known as Cholangiocarcinoma, Bile Duct Cancer, and was diagnosed in July 2013. He had surpassed all expectations in not only the amount of time he was able to withstand the effects of the disease, but also in the dignified and positive way in which he approached his fight with the disease.  With this form of cancer it is often only diagnosed when it is, unfortunately, too late to cure, and there are at the moment few that actually beat it. Bile Duct Cancer took my dad's life on the 1st of October 2014. He passed away peacefully and painlessly in his sleep in the Family Room of Ward 14, James Cook University Hospital Middlesbrough with his family by his side.

It was my father's wish that we try and help in some way the excellent people who were treating him at James Cook while he was alive, but sadly, he will now not live to be able to help himself. There are numerous causes, of course, to which we could donate, but we've chosen to set up a Just Giving page to donate to South Tees Hospital Trust with the understanding that the funds are used to assist Ward 14. Ward 14 deal with patients that become critically unwell during their cancer treatment and, inevitably, a lot of End of Life cases. In doing so they do a lot of things to treat their patients with dignity and respect, and go above and beyond the call of duty. They provide, as a small example, a television service that in any other part of the hospital you'd have to pay to use, and they provide family facilities such as the one I myself used on the night of my dad's passing. They can only do this by using funding provided to them, and of course, it's always a worry that this form of care is likely to be compromised by any funding cuts or shortfalls. That's why we'd like to donate to Ward 14; they deal with death and sadness on a daily basis, and I can honestly say they have made my families lives a lot easier during this trying time. They deserve the help.

I'd like to ask that any friends, colleagues or well wishers at this time offer a donation, however big or small, to 'Harry's Fund' for Ward 14, and I, his son, promise to ensure that every penny and the resulting Gift Aid goes to improving the lives of the staff and people who pass through Ward 14. Even if it's just a few pounds, every little helps. I'm leaving the 'goal' at it's default setting as I did not have a specific figure in mind.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my story.

Paul Michael Groom (Mike) - Harry's son.