Boy raises money for charity from hospital bed days after major operation on his brain
A boy from Worthing has raised thousands of pounds for charity from his hospital bed, days after a major operation.
On March 11, Stacy Clayton first noticed something was wrong with her son Charlie, nine. Fast forward two weeks, and he was recovering at home after doctors removed most of a 3cm benign brain tumour.
In the meantime, his dad Chris set up a fundraising page on his request that has raised more than £2,700 for the WellChild Resilience Fund, which helps the charity look after seriously ill children and their families during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Stacy, 36, from Lobelia Drive, Worthing, said she was ‘amazingly proud’ of her son.
“He hasn’t complained or made a fuss – he was nervous before his operation, but he just got on with it.
“You think that their lifeline, but you’re actually children are much braver than we are. They can show us adults a thing or two.”
Charlie had been complaining of headaches and had lost his appetite, but when he told his parents his neck hurt Stacy contacted 111, fearing her son could have meningitis. They took Charlie to Worthing Hospital, where doctors ruled out the disease.
But after his symptoms continued, he was back in hospital for an MRI scan.
Stacy, a teaching assistant at West Park Church of England Primary School, which Charlie attends, got a call from Chris after school telling her the doctor wanted to speak to them straight away.
She said: “As soon as I came off the phone with him, I broke down. From that call onwards, it was almost like we weren’t living it; it’s like it is a film and it is happening to someone else.”
The tumour was pressing on the part of Charlie’s brain that controls his hormones and eyesight, so doctors could not remove all of it.
He was swiftly taken to the neurological department of Southampton Hospital, where he was assessed and prepared for his four and a half hour operation on Friday, March 20, which went well.
By Monday, March 23, coronavirus rules had kicked in, meaning only one parent was allowed to stay at the hospital with Charlie – so Stacy had to sleep in the ward while Chris, 38, was left at home. And to make matters more challenging, Charlie’s twin Megan was staying with their grandparents in Devon during the operation and is now not able to come home due to the lockdown.
“She feels like she is having a little holiday but for us it is quite hard not having her here in these crazy times that we’re in,” Stacy said.
During his recovery, Charlie met some other children who were being looked after at the hospital who will need full time care and he told Stacy he wanted to help them. So Chris set up the Just Giving page on March 26, the day before his son was discharged, and raised £900 in three hours.
“Every day Charlie keeps checking the totals and reading the lovely messages that have been left for him, which is nice,” Stacy said.
Now Charlie is at home with medication to regulate his hormones, and will be back in hospital for further tests and to see if they can remove the other part of the tumour if it shifts position.
Stacy thanked NHS staff for the care Charlie received.
To donate to the fundraiser, search Charlie’s Epic Win at justgiving.com.