Ollie sings up for charity’s festive vid as thank-you
WELLCHILD HAS BEEN A GREAT SUPPORT FOR FAMILY - ESPECIALLY POORLY SISTER
AN eight-year-old from Leicester is giving back to the charity that supported him and his sister as they battled with their health.
Ollie Humphrey, who has Down’s syndrome, and his family first got in touch with WellChild, a national charity for seriously ill children and their families, for help over his sister Lily’s health complications.
Lily, who also had Down’s syndrome as well as other complex needs, died in May 2019 aged nine. The family continued to receive support from WellChild for Ollie.
However, during the pandemic, the charity said it has lost 60 per cent of its predicted income even though the demand for help from families caring for vulnerable children has rocketed.
With many charities relying on the festive season to make up for a loss of funds over the past year, WellChild created a national campaign which features Ollie’s family joining others to sing 12 Days of Christmas.
Ollie and his mum Jilly are featured in the heartwarming, festive video, which was showcased at a charity concert at Lambeth Palace, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The video is made up of supporters and beneficiaries of WellChild’s work across the
UK, singing together to show their support for the charity.
Jilly said the family have received lots of support from the organisation and they feel privileged to be able to give back.
The project illustrates WellChild’s aim to give children and families special memories, allowing them to have time together with a chance to thrive.
The WellChild concert, which was part of the 12 Days of Christmas series of concerts, took place on December 2 and featured English National Opera Tenor David Webb, soloist Natalie Rushdie and members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
WellChild chief executive Colin Dyer said: “We would like to thank Jilly and Ollie for being such great sports and taking part in our 12 Days of Christmas song for WellChild. “It is a fantastic way of introducing some of the families that WellChild supports across the UK and some of the work we do for seriously ill children and their families.
“Covid-19 saw WellChild lose 60 per cent of our forecast income and yet the demand for help from families caring for some of the most vulnerable children in our society skyrocketed.
“Our thanks to everyone who supports WellChild’s work this Christmas.”
We would like to thank Jilly and Ollie for taking part in our 12 Days of Christmas song for WellChild
Colin Dyer
A FAMILY who were forced to spend last Christmas apart for the first time as their daughter received treatment on a cancer ward are backing a fund to raise money for others in the same situation this year.
Last Christmas, 12-year-old Jess Oliver spent the festive week in hospital, with mum Catherine by her side, while dad Tim and brother Chris were not allowed in, with the one-visitor Covid rules in play.
This year, children on cancer wards are continuing to feel the effects of Covid-19, with the restrictions about visitors still in place, as they have been since the start of the pandemic.
Jess was 11 when she was diagnosed with cancer in June 2020, during the height of the first wave in the UK.
Catherine said: “She was completely healthy before but she came downstairs one night and said she had a lump on her neck.”
Over the following weeks, Catherine and Tim, 49, took her to various appointments until she was diagnosed with cancer, when doctors found a tumour in her chest.
Jess began intensive chemotherapy and, as December approached, her family faced up to the tough reality that they would be spending their first Christmas apart.
“She was in really intensive chemotherapy at the time and she lost around 12kg really fast because she just kept being sick,” Catherine, 50, said.
The schoolgirl had to be admitted to hospital on December 20 and stayed throughout the festive period until New Year’s Day.
What was already an extremely difficult time for the family was made even harder due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Catherine said: “One of the hardest parts was not being able to spend Christmas with my partner and son Chris, who was then 13, as they couldn’t visit us on the ward.”
But ward staff and local charities such as PASIC, based at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, were able to bring Jess and others like her some festive cheer.
The charity provides emotional, financial and social support for families of children and young people with cancer in the East Midlands and over the Christmas period also provides children with presents, special days out and more.
“They make you feel so special, even though it’s not the same as waking up in your own bed on Christmas morning,” she said.
“Sometimes they see you and just give you a smile and sometimes that’s all you need. They don’t just support the patients, they support the families,too.” This year Catherine, Tim and Chris, now 14, are looking forward to spending Christmas together at home.
But as Covid-19 cases surge once again, many child cancer patients such as Jess will once again face Christmas without their families. The risk posed by the pandemic also means PASIC has had to cancel its Christmas party for patients for the second year in succession.
PASIC chief executive Louise Towse said: “For a family with a child diagnosed with cancer, they’ve probably long since forgotten what a normal Christmas really is.
“The sad truth is, some children will be spending this Christmas in hospital and, for some, this might be their last Christmas together as they lose their fight against childhood cancer.”
“Sadly, we’ve also been helping some families celebrate Christmas early this year after receiving the devastating news that their child won’t make it to Christmas.
“This is the awful reality of childhood cancer.
“Although not even the magic of Christmas can help with the biggest of our wishes – a cure for childhood cancer – donations can help make some of our other Christmas wishes come true, to deliver magical memories to families facing the toughest of times.”
The charity is hoping to raise £2,000 to help create much-needed special memories for child cancer patients.
The appeal is raising money to go towards gifts and also days out throughout the year.
■ To donate, go to: justgiving.com/campaign/ pasicchristmasappeal
Sometimes they see you and just give you a smile and sometimes that’s all you need
Mum Catherine