Donations in name of boy
The dad of a toddler who was diagnosed with cancer has spoken of the emotional moment his family delivered two cars full of gifts to St Richard’s Hospital.
The dad of a toddler who was diagnosed with cancer has spoken of the ‘emotional’ moment his family delivered two cars full of gifts to St Richard’s Hospital. Dexter Richardson, who turns two next month, was diagnosed with a Wilms’ kidney tumour on Wednesday, April 3, after his nursery, First Steps Childcare at Chichester College, spotted a ‘firm patch’ on his tummy. Following a major operation in May, he was signed off at Southampton General Hospital last Tuesday and is just one operation away from being able to ring the end of treatment bell. The Dash4dexter campaign, set up by the Richardson family, from Pagham, to help support both hospitals and other families going through the same ordeal, has raised ‘well over £9,000’. Some of that money was used to buy the full toy room wish list of the Howard ward at St Richard’s, with two cars full of gifts being delivered on Friday. Mark said: “It was an emotional day delivering the gifts to the ward where we first received diagnosis and started our journey. “We said early on that we need to focus on the end goal and this was it, so to be here felt unbelievable. “I often use the phrase ‘focus on the summit not the mountain’. “Some people see the end goal and others see what is preventing them getting to the end goal. It’s a change in mindset and it has certainly helped us through the last few months. “I’m completely proud of all the friends and family that have supported, none more so than [wife] Steph, [daughter] Darcie and, of course, Dexter.” Mark said the family wants to keep the campaign going ‘to make a positive difference to others when they need it most’. He added: “We have another saying: ‘we can’t change the world but we can make a positive difference in the world we live’. “We said before, the toy rooms along with all the teams at Howard ward were a god-send and we will be eternally grateful for that and hopefully this shows a small token of appreciation as we could never pay back for everything we have received. “It was amazing to see Dash4dexter make a difference.” Mark also revealed plans to build a website to provide a support network for local families. “It’s important to remember that while we are extremely happy to be nearing the end of our journey, lots of families are at different points and some just starting out,” he said. “We have plans to grow Dash4dexter and we are currently building a website which will hopefully go on to help with the fundraising and provide a support network for local families where we can give advice, support, share experience and host lots of useful information and contacts.”