Colneis Junior School pupil raises over £800 to thank charity on behalf of little brother

The older brother of a little boy who came close to death has raised over £865 for The Sick Children’s Trust to say thank you for helping his Mummy and Daddy.

Inspirational ten year old, Lucas Durrant, took on the Felixstowe Fun Run last month to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust which supported his parents with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation when his brother, Ollie, was fighting for his life in Addenbrooke’s Hospital earlier this year.

Five year old Ollie was rushed to Ipswich Hospital when a bout of chicken pox led to pneumonia. Within two hours, Ollie was put on a life-support machine and transferred to the specialist Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, over 80 miles away from home. At Addenbrooke’s, he was taken to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) where it was discovered he had septicaemia and a strep A infection. Ollie had a chest drain fitted, underwent major surgery and was left fighting for his life on PICU. During this time, Ollie’s parents Julie (38) and Andrew (44) were given free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation at Acorn House, run by The Sick Children’s Trust. This meant that they were never more than a few minutes away from Ollie’s hospital bedside. Dad Andrew, a Control Room Operator for Lallemand, says:

“We came incredibly close to losing Ollie. It was absolutely terrifying. And without the help and support we received from Acorn House we really would have been lost.

“The Sick Children’s Trust provided us with free accommodation and support for the three weeks Ollie was desperately trying to survive. Living nearly 80 miles away from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, it would have been near on impossible for us to be able to spend any great length of time with him. To be so close to our son at the time he needed us the most, is something we will be forever grateful for.”

Ollie was finally discharged from hospital in April and has since gone from strength to strength. Andrew adds:

“Lucas decided to see how many miles he could run in an hour in the Felixstowe Fun Run and Ollie and I joined him. We wanted to raise as much money as possible for The Sick Children’s Trust to say thank you to the charity that helped us so much in our time of need. To be able to cross that finish line with Ollie holding my hand is a moment that I will cherish forever. He has made an amazing recovery considering how ill he was.

“To be able to give a little bit back to those who helped us so much in our lowest moment is the least we can do.”

The Sick Children’s Trust runs ten free ‘Homes from Home’ across the country, supporting families with seriously ill children in hospital. Although the accommodation is provided to families free of charge, it costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night. Acorn and Chestnut House Manager, Abi Abdel-aal, says:

“We’d like to say a huge congratulations to Lucas for his tremendous fundraising and Ollie for joining in the fun – we’re so impressed! It’s wonderful to see photos of Ollie looking so well after what was such a worrying time for his parents.

“As a charity we rely entirely on voluntary donations to keep our houses running, and to continue supporting families with seriously ill children in hospital. So on behalf of all our families, we’d like to say a huge thank you to Lucas, Ollie, Andrew and Julie for fundraising for us.”

For further information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/