On Wednesday the 29th January our son Louie was diagnosed with a brain tumour and acute hydrocephalus at age 11 after starting to feel poorly in December with headaches and vomiting amongst other symptoms. After an MRI scan at Halifax we were immediately told this devastating news and admitted to Halifax children’s ward, where Louie was put on steroids and later that night taken by ambulance to Leeds General infirmary. After 13.5 hour surgery to remove the tumour. We spent the next 11 days on ward L52 neuro ward and have subsequently been re admitted for further treatments three times, spending over 20 days on the ward. After a long 3 week wait we found out that the tumour was benign. Louie now had swelling of the optic nerves and is under the care of St James’s hospital aswell. He is having regular MRI scans and eye scans at both hospitals. We are raising this money to provide a gaming cart for Halifax children’s ward as myself and Russ have already paid for one personally for Leeds. We cannot explain the value of these carts housing an Xbox or PlayStation to the children who are on a ward 24/7 with no access to their home comforts. These cost £2500 each without the console- they are medical grade movable carts which means they can be used at the bedside if the child is too poorly to visit the playroom. We would like to raise as much as possible and if we go over target we could possibly get another over to Leeds as it’s a busy ward!

Below is a little about the charity.

TheRockinR was founded in memory of 11-year-old Reece ‘TheRockinR’ Miree. Throughout Reece's hospital stays and visits, we identified specific ways interactive games could help children while in the hospital. Undergoing medical treatment can often be a scary & isolating experience, especially for young patients. There is a special need for age-appropriate coping tools in hospitals, interactive mobile gaming and technology offer a vast range of benefits throughout children’s and young people's medical environments.