Helping hospital is a piece of cake for Jamie
ALAN SHERMAN’S sudden death last August after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia was devastating for his daughter Melissa Singer. But it hit her five-year-old son Jamie the hardest.
The Wolfson Hillel Primary pupil innocently believed that his grandad’s death was because the hospital, Northwick Park, had run out of money.
He immediately decided to help the hospital and created a poster for a cake sale fundraiser. “We couldn’t say no because it was his way of coping,” Mrs Singer said.
“We asked our family and friends to bake cakes and bring them and we made our own, too.”
The Elstree-based family expected to raise a nominal sum and were stunned when more than 100 people from the local community turned up in support.
“It was overwhelming and we raised more than £3,000.” The money has funded new televisions for cancer patients at the hospital.
“My dad was only 69 and it came totally out of the blue,” Mrs Singer reflected. “He was diagnosed on a Friday and passed away ten days later.
“It was very hard trying to explain it to Jamie and his other grandchildren. Jamie kept asking questions and saying it must be because the hospital had no money.
“Dad was going to need intense chemotherapy treatment, which would mean he would have had to stay in hospital for a minimum of a month at a time in an isolation room.
“The individual rooms in the Kingsley Ward at Northwick Park did not have any working televisions.
“With the money we raised, we were able to buy new TVs for all 14 rooms in the ward.”
Jamie said he was glad “we could do something really kind with the money — and I loved eating all the cakes. But I miss my Grandpa Alan so much.”