*Alder Hey Children's Charity + Daniels Story

Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Today's post is a little different to my usual content but it's about a very important charity, one of their amazing charity ambassadors and the incredible work done at the Alder Hey Children's Hospital which isn't too far away from Manchester in the amazing city of Liverpool. I'm sharing Daniel's story today which demonstrates the invaluable service and work at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. I will also be sharing the new Running Hub which has been created to inspire and motivate individuals to run for Alder Hey Children's Charity. Daniel was part of the 2018 Matalan PJs campaign and the 2019 is going to be announced soon.

Daniel's Story 
For the first few years of Daniel Bell’s life, he was like any other toddler, full of energy, happy and full of life at home in Ormskirk, but doctors soon discovered Daniel had a brain tumour the size of a fist. At aged three, mum Rosalind and dad Colin, had noticed a change in Daniel’s behaviour. He wasn’t the same happy go lucky toddler he used to be. Rosalind explains “His personality literally changed. He was grumpy had lots of tantrums, was sick and went back to sleeping in the day too, which was the total opposite of what he was previously.”

Thankfully Rosalind recognised some of the symptoms of a brain tumour. Daniel was taken to Ormskirk A&E who quickly realised the severity of the situation and Daniel diagnosed with a brain tumour. Daniel was rushed straight to Alder Hey which is a centre of excellence for brain conditions. “It was like the bottom had fallen out of my world, our lives changed in a split second. We were told he needed to go to Alder Hey right away and we were blue-lighted to Liverpool,” says Rosalind. 

Once at Alder Hey, Daniel was taken straight to theatre where Neurosurgeon Ms Sasha Burns drained fluid on his brain during a 3 hour life-saving operation and the next day Daniel’s tumour was removed during a 9 hour operation by Mr Conor Mallucci, who recently featured in BBC2 documentary Hospital. “Mr Mallucci told us that Daniel had a cystic tumour which was the size of an adult’s fist and there was a possibility of Daniel losing motor and mobility skills as the result of the procedure,” explained Rosalind.

The operation was a success, helped by the use of Alder Hey’s 3-T MRI scanner, a pioneering scanner which allows surgeons to scan the brain in theatre. Alder Hey is the first hospital in Europe to have this kit, which was paid for by Alder Hey Children’s Charity. “It was 6pm when we heard that Daniel was out of theatre. We were approaching HDU to see him when we heard Daniel shouting at the nurses. I have to admit it was the best sound ever,” said Rosalind. “Mr Mallucci said that the operation ‘went perfectly’ and that he had successfully managed to remove the whole of Daniel’s tumour. We spent 6 days on HDU to recover and then went to the neuro ward for a week. The nurses were incredible,” said Rosalind. Rosalind said: “When we got the scans from Oncology which told us that no further treatment was needed it was an amazing relief. I cried a lot after that.”

Daniel is now a healthy and very active little boy and also a budding actor. “Daniel is really happy. He is a cheeky little kid and he loves being with his friends. He has performed in Little Shop of Horrors with his local Performing Arts Club and he loves to raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Charity.” As a result of his fundraising, Daniel was named a Fundraising Ambassador for Alder Hey Children’s Charity, which made everyone in the Bell family very proud. “I was really emotional when they told us that Daniel was to be an ambassador for the charity. It is an honour and a privilege,” said Rosalind. “Alder Hey is such an inspirational place full of amazing people. The staff put the children first often at the expense of their own time. It is impossible to put into words how world class they are at what they do. We are fortunate to have them on our doorsteps.”

Alder Hey Children's Charity & Running Hub 
As with most charities, they need to fundraise to fund the amazing services they provide and Alder Hey is no exception. There are many ways to support charities and a common option is a sponsored run for charity which is where the Running Hub comes in. It is a site created to help motivate individuals to run, bake, walk or swim to raise money for charity. Their fundraising pack (which you can check out on the Running Hub site) is full of amazing tips and ideas to help you set up a sponsored event, how to fundraise and what to do, whether it's a charity bake sale at your place of work, a charity dinner with a local restaurant, selling items and donating the money or a fun run, for example.

Are you aware of the amazing work done at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and their charity? Have you ever taken part in a charity event? 

*Sponsored 
**Information and quotes from Alder Hey Children's Hospital 

20 comments

  1. I have this post going up on Saturday. Daniel's story is definitely inspiring x

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful story, so glad he's happy and healthy!
    I've seen about this charity on Matalan's website, such good work they do!
    Pam xo/ Pam Scalfi♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such an incredible charity! What an inspiring story xx

    Tiffany x www.foodandotherloves.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great charity and inspiring little chap
    Em x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh wow thanks for sharing this - a lovely story x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh wow what a wonderful charity.

    https://littlemissmelanie.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is so sad, can't imagine what they go through xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is so sad, can't imagine what they go through xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a moving story.The work of Alder Hey's charity is well worth our support.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a brave little boy and amazing parents for spotting the signs so early! The charity sounds amazing

    Jasmine xx



    Jasmine Talks Beauty

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love this x what a great charity x

    ReplyDelete
  12. I’d love to share this on my social media channels. Such a brilliant write up! x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a great charity, such an inspiring story x

    Sophie

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh wow what an amazing charity x

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a wonderful charity. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it is for families with sick children.

    ReplyDelete
  16. this sounds like an amazing charity

    ReplyDelete
  17. That is a very touching story. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awww, Charlie seems like such an incredible little boy! This post really rings true for me especially since Mum had a brain tumour AND had been a children's nurse! Thanks for sharing his story!

    Daisy xoxo | TheDeeWhoLived

    ReplyDelete

Please don’t leave any spam comments or links - thanks!

I’m no longer accepting any sponsored posts or freelance work at all and for the time being, I’m not accepting products to review so please don’t contact me about any of those, thank you! x