Tyler’s purple patch sees him smash hair raising charity target
A KIND-HEARTED boy smashed his fundraising target by taking on a hair-raising challenge inspired by his mum’s health battle.
Tyler Lovatt, 12, dyed his hair bright purple before spending the day in school to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease.
His mum Kerry suffers from the chronic inflammatory disease, which affects the intestines, and she has to endure intravenous infusions every eight weeks at Macclesfield Hospital.
Tyler, who lives on the Weston estate, aimed to raise £200 cash for the charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK, which has helped his mum cope with her condition and is working to find a cure.
But after appearing in the Express and pulling off his challenge at All Hallows Catholic College on the last day of term, he has raised more than £500, including more than £100 from the school collection.
Mum Kerry said: “Tyler was super excited to go into school with his hair purple. We would like to thank everyone so much for all your donations. We are totally blown away by how generous you have all been.”
Tyler was so happy with his new hair he decided to keep it for the school holidays.
He said: “My mum was diagnosed with Crohn’s five years ago so I know how hard it is to live with this disease.
“I want to support this charity, as they provide invaluable support for people and families with Crohn’s, and they are trying to find a cure for this uncomfortable and debilitating disease.”
David Barker, chief executive of Crohn’s and Colitis UK, said: “We want to say a big thank you to Tyler for all his efforts and for helping to raise awareness of these ‘invisible’ diseases.
“Our supporters, such as Tyler give their time, money, energy, devotion, and skills to help the battle against Crohn’s and Colitis.”
You can still support Tyler by donating on justgiving.com/TylerGoes-Purple.
It was Tyler who first knew something was wrong with his mum back in 2010 when he commented on how thin she had become.
Kerry said: “Tyler was the one who got me thinking something was wrong when he hugged me and said he could feel my spine.”
Kerry finally went to the doctor and tests eventually diagnosed her with Crohn’s.
She said: “I was really poorly and had to live with my mum for a while until I recovered my strength. Tyler was so brave during that period. He was only little. He has been a massive support over the years.”