Samuel lost his battle on 22nd Jan 2014 to a very rare form of cancer, Precursor Non-Hodgkins T-Cell Lymphoma. During his time in hospital he went been through a lot - too much pain to think of and a vast amount of different medicines and their side effects.
Through all this Samuel has been an inspiration to those around him, his courage and personality were phenomenal.
During the pain, the endless medicine and horrible side effects, the loneliness he felt and my dispair at watching him slowly fade Samuel had the compassion to worry about the other kids going through hell.
He started this charity to help others kids and their families when they need it the most; when they are very ill, scared, in pain, lonely and sometimes terminally ill.
What does your donations and support do?
Pain reducing equipment like the Accuveins we supplied make
injections and cannulations much less painful and done on the first
attempt (a huge thing as it often took 4 attempts for Samuel).
Free WiFi, Netflixs, games, computers - this is just a few of
the things we supply to help along with support for parents and their families.
We replace sofabeds - without them parents can't get a decent nights
sleep (IF they get a chance - really ill kids are often up frequently,
especially for medicine, being sick etc). A parent is part of the care
team looking after a child - they are there all the time, giving
medicine and looking out for changes in behaviour, if the medicine is
working, side effects and general 'looking after' duties. This takes a
toll over weeks and months and to make sure the kids get the best care
the parents need sleep!
Plus, one of the most calming and natural
things is for a child to sleep with a parent when they are scared, in
pain or sad.
Samuel saw how bad the food was and, with the help of some key people at the hospital, managed get the hospital to improve the menu and quality of the service. It took 18 months and I am very sad he never got to see just how much of a difference this one thing made.
There are hundreds of things, big and small, that we can do to imrove the lives of these sick children and we are working to help more and more kids at more hospitals in the UK.
Without you
None of this is possible without your support. You have already touched and improved the lives of over 13,000 children each year. Thank you.
What else?
We'd love to have as many people help us - you might want to join us in one of the events we do all year round from Skydiving to Tough Mudder and Family Fetes. You can organise a Cake Bake or Raffle or Quiz Night with friends, family or co-workers (we help and support all these with advice and posters, T-Shirts fluers etc).
Maybe your company could be a sponsor or make us their charty for the month/year.
What ever you have in mind we will be very greatful for your support, but our appreciation is nothing compared to how hapy you make the kids and their families. I wish you could see how much it makes a difference - you can see some stories on our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/samuelscharity or our website www.samuelscharity.co.uk
Thank you xxxxxx