ALDER HEY CHILDREN'S CHARITY MAGAZINE ISSUE #7

Inside Inspired...

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Welcome to our newest young fundraising ambassadors

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Harley’s story

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Thank you to all our amazing supporters

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#BeASuperStar2018

10 Ruth’s story 12

Community Matters

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Getting to know you

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Making a difference

17

Creatures coming home to Roost…

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Conquering Kilimanjaro

20 Declan’s story 22 Corporate tweets 24 Double centurions 25 Upcoming events 26 Run with us 28 The Coniston Challenge 30 Poppy’s story 31

A big

Hello & welcome to Inspired

Hi, my name is Ben, I am nine years old and I live in Crosby.

In January 2015 when I was five my hero Mr Mallucci performed a nine hour operation to remove a brain tumour from the middle of my brain.

After my operation I enjoyed going to physiotherapy sessions and to the occupational therapy team. I liked swimming in the hydrotherapy pool, playing on the PlayStation in the playroom and eating sausage on toast in the café!

With help from a special MRI scanner funded by Alder Hey Children’s Charity Mr Mallucci and his team were able to take all of the tumour out.

When I left hospital I decided that it would be good to raise money for Alder Hey because they had saved my life. I have organised football tournaments between schools, charity nights, ‘scouse’ bingo events and have been sponsored for doing events like Oli’s Safari Walk (see back cover). In the future I want to raise money by going diving with sharks and skydiving!

I hope you enjoy this latest edition of Inspired…

I think it’s boss!

Challenge heroes

32 Oli’s Safari Walk

Alder Hey has recently been featured in the BBC Two ratings hit Hospital. The series has shown the extraordinary work of some of Liverpool’s 20,000 NHS hospital staff as they push the boundaries of what is possible with world class, cutting edge treatments and life-saving operations. The work of the charity and the equipment we have provided at Alder Hey has proved pivotal in some of the stories shown – if you missed an episode you can catch up now on iPlayer. If you would like to donate please go to www.alderheycharity.org or call us on 0151 252 5716.

WELCOME

TO OUR NEWEST CHARITY FUNDRAISING AMBASSADORS Congratulations to Young Ambassador Ben on winning the 2018 Liverpool Echo Young Personality Award.

LUKE

F R E YA

Congratulations to Young Ambassador Edie on being nominated as “Young Citizen of the Year” at the 2018 local lovebarrowawards.co.uk.

P O P P Y-M A E

DANNY

EDIE

D AV I D, J O S E P H AND THOMAS

Congratulations to Young Ambassador Joseph and dad Andrew on completing the Boxing Day dip in Redcar, Teesside as panto dames… Dame Alder and Dame Hey!

Welcome to our newest young fundraising ambassadors 3

HARLEY’S STORY When six year old Harley Margerison from Speke was rushed to Alder Hey in December 2017 he was unable to walk and was slurring his speech.

His family took him straight to A&E where he underwent brain scans, blood tests and an MRI. Through a process of elimination, clinicians eventually determined that Harley was suffering from a rare condition called Sydenham’s chorea and he was admitted to the hospital just days before Christmas.

Mum, Clare explains, “It started off with him being unwell, a bit like a winter cold, with a husky cough. We took him to the doctor who thought it was a virus, but a week later he was slurring his speech and we couldn’t understand what he was saying.

He was also walking like somebody who was really drunk and couldn’t control his legs.”

Sydenham’s chorea only affects a small number of children in the UK each year and even then it is mainly girls over the age of five.

The condition is caused by a germ called streptococcus and often develops from a sore throat. The bug affects the area of the brain which controls movement, symptoms include a lack of coordination and balance causing jerking and falling.

On New Year’s Eve, after a two week stay and a course of antibiotics Harley was discharged and referred to Alder Hey’s speech and language therapy and physiotherapy teams to help get him back on track.

4 Harley’s story

Harley returned to school in January, but after a tumble in the classroom he was brought back to hospital the day before his fifth birthday.

Clare said: “When Harley was in hospital it affected Joseph a lot, the two of them are inseparable.

He has been Harley’s cheerleader and motivator, he ran a little bit ahead of him in the race and would keep coming back to check how he was doing.

I ran with Harley - I thought he’d stop, but he just kept going. It was so hot, but he just kept saying ‘I can do this mummy, I believe in myself.’

It’s amazing to think just a few months ago he couldn’t walk and now he’s running races, he’s just a boisterous little boy who’s into everything.”

Clare said: “He had a little fall and hit his face. We were worried that he’d miss his birthday party, but luckily he was allowed back home to celebrate.”

The infection also affected Harley’s heart causing him to develop a heart murmur.

Harley will need to take antibiotics until he is 18 to ensure the infection doesn’t return.

Despite his ongoing treatment Harley, with the support of his big brother Joseph, jumped at the chance to take up a challenge to raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Charity. Just six months after leaving hospital Harley successfully completed the Liverpool Spring 1K, raising an amazing £322.50.

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Like most runners, Harley was delighted to receive his finishers’ medal and is now set on completing more running events as well as attending his Friday night swimming club.

It’s remarkable what Harley has achieved, he still has some weakness and gets tired easily, but in time he will make a complete recovery.

D R M A N V E E N PAT I L Harley’s story 5

A huge thank you to all of our remarkable supporters. We continue to be amazed by your generosity and the efforts you put in to fundraising for Alder Hey. Please keep your fundraising exploits and photos coming - we love to see and hear what you’ve been up to. Here’s just a selection...

TO ALL OUR AMA

The World Mission Agency, Winners Chapel International – Liverpool donated an incredible £45,445.80 to buy heated cots and an ultrasound machine

The Halton Ambassadors/Premier Dance Association raised a magical £1,000 by holding a fundraising day.

Maisie Nolan raised a fantastic £121 when she put her trainers on and ran 5K. 6 Thank you to all our amazing supporters

Joe Golinski bought a brick from the old Alder Hey Hospital, he was a patient at Alder Hey three times during the Spring of 2009.

Amelia Jones raised a tasty £80.00 from a guess the number of sweets in the jar competition.

Dave Sorton successfully completed Tough Mudder and raised an amazing £2030.67 in support of his son Rhys.

Two patients recently chopped off their hair to give to the Princess Trust and raise money for Alder Hey…

ZING SUPPORTERS

Edie Wilson raised an astonishing £2,673

Charlotte Edney organised a PJ day at school and raised a brilliant £447.26

Jessica Milburn raised a fabulous £639 Up and coming star DJ Louis Smith raised a foot stomping £500 by organising and DJing at a children’s rave in Liverpool.

Shaw Hill Golf Club raised an outstanding £16,406.72 after Lady Captain Alison Davidson chose Alder Hey as her Charity of the Year.

The team at RSA Group took part in the 2018 Santa Dash; they have hosted various fun days throughout the year and are nearly at their £2,000 target!

Thank you to all our amazing supporters 7

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Scarlett Moffatt was the face of the campaign along with some of our amazing patients.

#BE A 2018

2018 marked the 5th year of Alder Hey Children’s Charity’s partnership with retail giant Matalan. Having pledged to raise an incredible £1.5 million when the partnership started in 2014, Matalan have since amazed us by raising an unbelievable £2.1million to date, with the final figure from #BeASuperstar2018 expected to be around £625,000!

From alphabet scarves to Superstar PJs, each campaign has been more highly anticipated than the last and we have loved every single one.

The fabulous creativity of the Matalan team ensures that, year on year, families look forward to their tradition of buying everyone (even the dog!) a pair of PJs and an array of coordinating merchandise.

The campaign brings together staff from both organisations, Alder Hey supporters and Matalan customers, to raise money and awareness for our amazing hospital.

An added element this year was the beautiful cover of ‘Reach for the Stars’, sung by Grace Lee, a charity fundraising ambassador, Lauren Clarke, staff member at Matalan and the Matalan/Alder Hey choir.

The charity single perfectly complemented the PJs and starry merchandise and reflected the magic of the inspiring patients, families and staff at Alder Hey and is still available to download from iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.

8 #BeASuperstar2018

I feel honoured to work on this partnership with Matalan. The campaign really brings the hospital together and raises a huge amount of money; we can’t thank Matalan enough for their support. The past five years have been magical and have touched so many of our patient’s lives. We can’t wait to start working on the 2019 campaign!

H AY L E Y T H O M A S , H E A D O F C O R P O R AT E F U N D R A I S I N G

The campaign title ‘Superstars’ says it all; it’s our most fitting campaign name to date. Everyone I have ever met at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is worthy of that title and I was truly excited to launch the 2018 campaign, along with a charity single. The work carried out at Alder Hey and the incredible research projects stretch far and wide, helping children right across the globe - I couldn’t be prouder to support such an amazing charity. We’ve already beaten our original fundraising target, so let’s see where the campaign takes us to.

J A S O N H A R G R E AV E S , M ATA L A N C E O

The children had the most amazing day on the photoshoot.

Thank you to all of our supporters for buying the pyjamas and merchandise in 2018 – you are all Superstars! #BeASuperstar2018 9

RUTH’S STORY

At seven months old Ruth was treated for her talipes using the Ponseti method, a technique used to straighten the foot using manipulation and stretching. A few months later she had a hip spica plaster cast applied to treat her bilateral hip dysplasia by immobilising the hip, pelvis and femur. Other surgeries that Ruth has undergone to date include the lengthening of a bone in her leg and a couple of ligament grafts.

Dad John, also has Larsen syndrome and he too was treated at Alder Hey, undergoing many surgeries, in fact he stopped counting after his 40th operation!

Eight year old Ruth Doyle has already undergone 14 operations in her short life.

Born with Larsen syndrome, a rare genetic condition that occurs in approximately one in 100,000 newborns, Ruth has spent a considerable amount of time at Alder Hey. Larsen syndrome affects the development of bones throughout the body. Symptoms include dislocations of the large joints, skeletal malformations, talipes (clubfoot), and breathing difficulties.

Mum Rebecca says “When Ruth was born it was hard to imagine a future where she would be walking. When I looked at her tiny feet I wondered how they could fix her problems.”

10 Ruth’s story

Like her dad, Ruth will need many more operations and will undergo physiotherapy throughout her life.

Fortunately though she loves coming into the hospital, particularly for her regular sessions with Dave the physio, where they work on building the strength in her legs.

“The staff have been amazing - from her consultants right up to the staff who serve lunch and the play specialists.

They have a lovely bond with Ruth which makes it so much easier to keep her spirits up.

When we come to Alder Hey we feel like one of the family.”

“As a parent I feel the staff listen to me and take on my thoughts about her treatment with the greatest consideration. We hold a very special place in our hearts for Alder Hey.”

In October 2018 Ruth’s resilience and determination reached new heights when, to say thank you to everyone who got her walking, she completed (along with mum), the Scouse 5K and raised a magnificent £530.

This incredible effort resulted in her being awarded the Rainhill Rotary Foundation medal in December for her determination, spirit and fundraising.

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We’re so lucky to be at a hospital with the facilities to accommodate a parent.

REBECCA, RUTH’S MUM

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Mum Rebecca explained, “I think the best bit for her is getting me all to herself when we stay on the ward! We’re so lucky to be at a hospital with the facilities to accommodate a parent.”

Ruth is looking forward to adding to her growing medal collection by doing the Scouse 5K again this year.

HAS RUTH’S STORY INSPIRED YOU TO FUNDRAISE? Every year about 275,000 children from all around the UK are treated by the hospital and thanks to the research at Alder Hey, many of their lives are transformed. A donation of just £5 a month can help more remarkable young people like Ruth. Visit www.alderheycharity.org for more information.

Ruth’s story 11

COMMUNIT Y The Liverbeards Beard and Moustache Club bought 300 pairs of our Matalan Superstar Pyjamas to donate to Pyjama Party Liverpool.

Our new Community Fundraiser Adam Dixon has been on the road meeting members of our amazing communities - often with his trusty sidekick and Charity mascot Oli. If you’re a school who’d like a visit from Oli and the chance to test yourself against Adam’s very own ‘Who wants to be an Alder Hey millionaire’ game, or a community group offering a decent brew and maybe even a biscuit or two – Adam would love to come and see you!

Blessed Sacrament Knit and Natter donated £100 from their members donations.

Gilmour Infants held an own clothes day and raised a magical £517.

To book a visit from Adam please contact him on: adam.dixon@ alderheycharity.org 0151 252 5705 @adixonAlderHey Kew Woods Primary in Southport raised an enterprising £1058.25 on their charity day.

12 Community Matters

M AT T E R S …

NCS groups from all over the North West have continued to support Alder Hey and raised an amazing £6,839 last year.

Adam and Oli have been busy visiting schools in Halton recently… Weston Primary School donated bundles of craft gifts and both Moore Primary School and Ditton Primary School have chosen Alder Hey Children’s Charity as their charity for 2019.

The fabulous ladies of West Derby Women’s Club raised an astonishing £620 and were so welcoming to Adam on his birthday, singing happy birthday and offering him tea and bickies from their best china!

The Linus Project Project Linus UK is a volunteer organisation that has been donating new handmade quilts and knitted blankets to children at Alder Hey for over 10 years.

The project gives local volunteers across the UK the opportunity to contribute to their local communities.

Community Matters 13

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

GETTING TO K

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is full of truly inspiring patients and their families. It is also home to 3,500 amazing staff including ward chefs, surgeons, porters, nurses, clerical staff, domestics and play specialists to name but a few.

Morning Iain! You started at Alder Hey in 2009 as a trainee paediatric surgeon.

Almost ten years on you are Consultant Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon and Clinical Director of Innovation – did you always want to be a surgeon?

Morning! Yes, pretty much from the age of eight. I remember it well due to a diary entry detailing a change from my previous job aspiration to be a NATO nuclear strategist.

We thought you might like to meet some of the remarkable people that help to make Alder Hey such a special place for so many people. Head of Community Fundraising, Cath Harding recently met up with Consultant Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon and Clinical Director of Innovation, Mr Iain Hennessey to find out a little bit about his roles at Alder Hey.

14 Getting to know you

It was my granddad who inspired me. He was a mine rescue officer in Scotland and from the age of eight I became the mascot of the pit first aid and mine rescue team, coaching them on the theory side in competitions as I was the one reading all the books on first aid and rescue extraction.

As a child with my friends playing soldiers, instead of running round shooting people I was the medic dragging them off the battlefield and pulling bullets out of them.

Brilliant! So, other than your granddad who was obviously a great influence do you have any other heroes?

(Without missing a beat…)

Gordon McKinlay, an innovative paediatric surgeon from

Edinburgh who operated on me as a two year old to release a trigger finger. Being held down for the anaesthesia was both my first and worst memory as a child, though it obviously didn’t have any lasting damage as I later went to work for him.

Dr Donald Henderson the guy who wiped out smallpox is also up there, and Thor because he’s funny, Ironman because conceptually he’s the best and from DC, Batman… clearly because of the Batcave.

Clearly! The Innovation Hub at Alder Hey (aka the Batcave) is your brainchild - an area within Alder Hey providing an environment to experiment with innovations from other industries and trial them to see whether they can be of benefit in a clinical setting, from 3D printing to virtual reality and artificial intelligence. If you could invent one piece of kit to use at Alder Hey what would it be?

The retrospectoscope.

The retro – what??

(Laughs) It’s a hypothetical medical imaging device for looking at the past and finding out what could have been done better.

NOW YOU...

When you’re not in the Batcave you spend two thirds of the work week in your role as a surgeon. Have you any idea roughly how many surgeries you’ve done at Alder Hey? Oh wow, well I do between 6-10 surgeries a day when I’m in theatre… (does some rough mental calculations…) so that’s… (more calculations)… probably about 3,000.

Wow! That’s a LOT of surgeries – it must be such a rewarding experience to be able to ‘fix’ so many children?

It is. It’s still my favourite aspect of the role working with patients, being kind to them and getting feedback from them when its gone well and they are at ease and comfortable.

Alder Hey is such an amazing place, what is it that makes it so magical?

It’s a lot of things – the people, the culture, the statement building. I remember sitting on a stairwell outside the old hospital watching the new hospital go up and thinking how proud I was to work in such an amazing place within a culture and environment to be able to try things.

The things we can do today, if you said we could do them 50 years ago – that would be regarded as magic.

Rumour has it that you eat the same thing for breakfast EVERY morning?

That’s true. Two eggs boiled for exactly five minutes and a decaf coffee.

NAME: Mr Iain Hennessey JOB TITLE: Consultant Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon and Clin ical Director of Innovation

And lunch?

Always soup no matter the flavour… no roll but always a bag of crisps.

Sounds delicious! You’re obviously a very busy person, but when you’re not saving lives or innovating what do you get up to?

I’m a sailing and fencing enthusiast and dad to three girls, which keeps me busy enough!

One final question before I let you go to get your soup… if you had one wish, what would it be?

I think that if I had one wish it would be that all children are well and that my job is not required.

Getting to know you 15

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE TO OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES… Every donation to Alder Hey Children’s Charity enables us to support Alder Hey Children’s Hospital by providing ground-breaking medical equipment, a better environment and facilities for families, research into childhood medical conditions and enhancements to patient experience through digital innovations, distraction technology and play equipment. Your support has recently enabled us to complete our £6million appeal to build our new research facility on site at Alder Hey. The Speakman Building was officially opened in January. Thank you so much!

Here are some more of the ways YOU have made a difference in the past 6 months…

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT £735,114.50 including…

£450,000 for a robotic microscope for use in neurosurgery

£120,000 for a cone beam CT scanner

£24,148 for heated cots to use in Critical Care as an intermediate step between an incubator and a standard cot.

£25,000 for an Ultrasound machine

ARTS, CRAFTS AND PLAY

£3,000 for Patient Stories Comics & Cartoons £9,920 for a Young Makers project to provide craft making for patients and families NEW ALDER CENTRE BUILDING £250,000

DISTRACTION THERAPY £273,847 including…

£22,500 for a Sensavue entertainment system that works in our MRI scanner.

£269,985 for treatment room distraction

*Image courtesy of AHMM THANK YOU!

16 Making a difference

Creatures coming home to Roost…

Adopting an Alder Hey creature what you’ll get: A home for life at Alder Hey for your adopted creature - and of course, you can name it!

If you’ve visited Alder Hey, you’ll have seen Roost - our stunning hanging sculpture in the main Atrium featuring hand painted wooden birds, animals and characters, imagined and designed by artist Lucy Casson.

We have made our Roost creatures available for adoption. There are just 100 uniquely crafted creatures available - one to symbolise each year of Alder Hey’s 100 year history before we opened Alder Hey in 2015 - and your adoption is for life!

Mair Lloyd recently adopted ‘MaGee’ as a way of thanking the hospital for the ‘exceptional care’ that her son Gethin and the family received after he was diagnosed with exomphalos at birth. After successful surgery to prevent his umbilical cord closing off his bowel Gethin was able to restart feeding after a couple of days and, now a thriving toddler, he has been discharged.

MAIR, GETHIN’S MUM

A high resolution image of your adopted creature emailed to you The knowledge your adoption is directly helping to support young patients at Alder Hey. This could be anything from funding vital research to enjoyable arts programmes which entertain and distract patients during their treatment.

An adoption costs £500.

For further information please call 0151 252 5716 or email info@ alderheycharity.org

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Even though we don’t have to visit Alder Hey now, trust me there isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t eternally grateful for his exceptional care.

Your contribution, story and chosen name listed in our online Roost gallery (optional)

Creatures coming home to Roost… 17

CONQUERING days, it seemed like our world was collapsing around us. It was the most traumatic time of our lives and something that I would never wish to go through again.

However, the staff and facilities at Alder Hey certainly made that journey so much easier than it could have been.”

In the early hours of 12 March 1997 Paul and Sally Wright welcomed their first born child, Emily, to the world.

21 years later Sally waved husband Paul and personal trainer Emily off on the adventure of a lifetime to climb Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest free standing mountain, for Alder Hey - the hospital that saved Emily’s life.

Emily was born with transposition of the great arteries, a heart condition which required immediate attention. At just a few hours old she was transferred from Sharoe Green Hospital, Preston to Alder Hey where just 36 hours later she underwent eight hours of life saving open-heart surgery.

Dad Paul explained, “Emily spent two weeks at Alder Hey and at the time, particularly those first few 18 Conquering Kilimanjaro

“As soon as I walked through the door the positive energy and atmosphere could be felt. The doctors, nurses, reception staff – indeed everybody just made you feel that everything was going to be ok.”

sickness and moments of pure exhaustion. Through dense tropical rainforest, moorland and scree they eventually reached Uhuru Peak, the highest point at 5875m.

Covering over 87km across a variety of terrain with the snow-capped summit rising high above, the group were rewarded for their mental and physical efforts with spectacular views and beautiful ice formations… and an overwhelming sense of achievement on reaching the summit!

Despite initially fearing the worst and having her christened by the resident minister in Sharoe Green, Paul and Sally took Emily home after a couple of weeks to recuperate.

Two decades later they took on the second biggest challenge of their lives.

The gruelling seven day trek up the impressive Machame Route of Kilimanjaro saw Emily and Paul, along with a group of 16 other Alder Hey trekkers, tackle extreme temperatures, altitude

The trekkers raised an incredible £150,000 for Alder Hey and having had such an incredible journey Emily has also signed up to the Alder Hey Inca Trail Challenge in 2019 while dad will be trekking the Himalayas in Nepal in 2020.

“We’ve always been so grateful to Alder Hey for everything they did for Emily, she has grown into such an energetic young woman with a real love for life. Climbing Kilimanjaro together with a group of 16 other amazing people was the most incredible experience of our lives.”

KILIMANJARO Kilimanjaro has proved to be a popular destination for Alder Hey fundraisers in 2018. Alongside our bespoke trip Katie Rodd and Danny McCay also successfully summited the mountain whilst raising vital funds for the Charity.

Katie, another former patient will also be tackling Everest Base Camp in 2019 to thank the hospital for treating a variety of illnesses that she had as a child including arthritis, osteocondritis and cataracts, explaining how the hospital “helped me maintain a healthy and active lifestyle despite my aching body.�

For further information on any of our challenges, please contact Cath on 0151 282 4795 or email community@alderheycharity.org

DECL AN’S STORY

“On the 13th June 2017 – your wonderful hospital saved our son’s life.”

Declan Fairhurst is growing up to be a beautiful, mischievous, loving toddler. Alder Hey are proud to have played a large part in this thanks to Chief Cardiac Surgeon Mr Rafael Guerrero, his wider team in the operating theatre, the intensive care staff and all the doctors and nurses on the cardiac ward at Alder Hey. When Declan was just 3 months old he caught chicken pox from his older sister Lily and it was during the subsequent routine appointment that his family GP picked up on a heart murmur.

Following various ECGs and investigative procedures at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Declan was diagnosed with an Atrial Septal Defect between the chambers of his heart, with various other complications associated with the veins bringing oxygenated blood back into the wrong part of his heart.

It was then that mum Jenny and dad Leigh were told that, in order to correct this, Declan would need open heart surgery at Alder Hey. Having already had a pre-op consultation, on June 8th, Jenny and Leigh received a phone call to say there had been a cancellation and could they bring Declan in the following week.

The previous six months had been a rollercoaster, and to have an operation date in place brought so many mixed emotions to his loving parents.

20 Declan’s story

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...every member of staff we came into contact with was amazing, compassionate and caring J E N N Y, D E C L A N ’ S M U M

Declan spent a week in Alder Hey recovering, with his parents and big sister Lily by his bedside. He is now thriving back home in Stockport and enjoying toddler life.

“We will always remember the truly exceptional care Declan, and us as parents, received at Alder Hey. It is a wonderful hospital, with incredible staff and we feel very lucky and privileged that Declan had the benefit of being treated there.”

“It was fair to say we were terrified but we knew Declan needed this surgery to happen.

We’d been informed that eventually the strain this condition would place on his heart and lungs would be too much, leading to heart problems and pulmonary hypertension in later life.” said Jenny.

Declan was admitted to Alder Hey on Monday 12th June and his operation took place the next day.

Mum, Jenny remembers, “From this point to being discharged the following week, every member of staff we came into contact with was amazing, compassionate and caring.

From the anaesthetist who comforted me as a distraught mother, to the nurse who gave outstanding one to one care in the intensive care unit the night after his surgery, and all the lovely nurses who always made Declan smile – especially whilst doing his temperature, blood pressure and oxygen levels!”

Declan’s story 21

CORPORATE TWEETS Tag us in your tweets @AlderHeyCharity

Alder Hey Children’s Charity @AlderHeyCharity

Fancy trekking the Himalayas for @AlderHeyCharity?

YES YOU DO! Email cath.harding@alderheycharity.org to book your place today!

Optionis @Optionis

Months of preparation and training done – the 23 cyclists at team Optionis smashed their Office to Office bike ride challenge, cycling over 50 miles between their Warrington and Nixon Williams office in Blackpool. Met by the cheers and encouragement of their colleagues… and perhaps a celebratory glass of fizz or two, the Optionis team raised over £4000 for the new Alder Centre on site at Alder Hey. #cycling #alderhey

Sure Group @SureGroup

An incredible Golf Day at the beautiful Mottram Hall was attended by staff, suppliers and friends. Golf, laser clay, axe throwing and archery! Raised an astonishing £15,000 @AlderHeyCharity #golf #alderhey

22 Corporate tweets

Currys PC World @curryspcworld

Congratulations to Currys PC World Aintree on their welldeserved Chairman’s Shield victory , awarded for their work within the community, amazing customer service and teamwork. We’re delighted to continue to receive their support #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork

Liverpool Airport @LPL_Airport

Thank you Liverpool John Lennon Airport #LJLALoves have continued to support our Alder Play app through various fundraising events this year. Their Fire Service took on Hawarden Airport Fire Service at Airbus Broughton in a fiercely competed charity football match, and during the festive period travellers sent messages to our amazing patients through a custom designed bauble! #footie #christmas

Siemens @Siemens

What a year for the team at Siemens, smashing their fundraising target by organising various events from bake offs to Christmas markets! Mascot Oli loved being part of their summer sports day and staff took part in various running challenges from 10Ks to half marathons! #bakeoff #running #sportsday

DTM Legal @DTMLegal

Wongs @Wongs

What a special night at Wong’s Jewellers annual Winter Ball.

An evening filled with glitz and glamour at the beautiful Royal Liver Building with entertainment from Yukebox and incredible £29,100 raised for our amazing new Alder Centre #jewellery #love #diamonds

Well done to DTM Legal partner, Kate, for successfully cycling from London to Amsterdam covering an incredible distance of 360 miles in just four days and raising a superb £2,040 for Alder Hey. Staff and partners at DTM Legal also took part in a host of fundraising activities over the year, including the Oli’s Safari Walk and other cycling challenges!

#challenge #cycle

D OU B L E CENTURIONS

Alder Hey was originally created as a workhouse, providing care for the sick.

By July 1914 a portion of the institution was allotted for the accommodation of sick children and in October 1914 a new modern hospital was erected and opened admitting 350 children to twelve wards.

The hospital has since seen a great many changes including the establishment of the NHS in 1948 and more recently in October 2015, the opening of the brand new Alder Hey in the Park.

Whilst most of us remember the new hospital being built and opened and some remember the birth of the NHS, very few of us were around when Alder Hey first opened its doors.

We were overwhelmed then, when recently we received a donation from John Tinniswood via The Hollies Rest Home in Southport after they held a birthday BBQ for his 106th birthday!

24 Double centurions

By our maths John is two years older than the hospital and our oldest supporter on record, a whole six years older than another centurion legend Harry from Billinge, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday by asking for donations instead of gifts and raising an incredible ÂŁ620!

With a combined age of 206 John and Harry are two truly remarkable men and we are delighted that they both chose to support Alder Hey Children’s Charity and make a difference to the children and young people treated at Alder Hey today.

13TH / SUN 14TH JULY 2019 Starting at the Pier Head this fantastic moonlit bike ride links The Wirral and Liverpool city centre and takes in some of the area’s most iconic landmarks, offering great cycling and beautiful views across the city. The route is made of 2 loops, each approximately 50km.

You can therefore choose a 50km Wirral route, 50km Liverpool route or go for the full 100km and experience it all.

LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL ABSEIL SATURDAY 10TH AUGUST 2019 Abseiling 150ft down Liverpool’s world famous cathedral is a magical experience.

Why not make this one of your 2019 challenges?

REGISTRATION FEE: £40 MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP: £160

REG FEE: £35 MIN SPONSORSHIP: £200

DO YOU DARE TO

SKYDIVE?

FEELING BRAVE? TAKE ON THE OUR MOST EXHILARATING CHALLENGE BY JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE FOR ALDER HEY.

Skyline have sites located around the country offering the chance to try either a Tandem or Static Line jump with availability throughout the year.

JUMP FOR F R E E!

MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP: £395 TO BOOK PLEASE VISIT WWW.ALDERHEYCHARITY.ORG/EVENTS/ LATEST/SKYDIVING

For further information on any of our event please email community @alderheycharity.org or visit www.alderheycharity.org/events

RUN WITH US THE ALDER HEY 10K

Alan Saxon also completed the Alder Hey 10K in support of son Elliott who has been treated in the oncology unit at Alder Hey.

“ Having been a runner for many years this was something that Darren refused to accept and so he set about working on his rehabilitation and fitness. Slowly he built up enough strength to jog a few hundred metres and gradually increased this until, in October, he successfully completed the Alder Hey 10K.

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In 2017, Darren Jones slipped on ice, twice, snapping his tibia and breaking his ankle in three places. He was told he would never run again.

During our 16 months at Alder Hey I got to see firsthand the doctors and nurses working tirelessly round the clock to help all the sick children at the hospital.

AL AN SAXON, ELLIOT’S DAD

Darren hopes to complete a marathon in 2019 and is keen to support Alder Hey again after the hospital saved his life when he was hit by a car as an eight year old.

*COMING SOON* Follow us on social media for the 2019 Alder Hey 10K date alderheyhospital 26 Run with us

@AlderHey Charity

JOIN US ON THE START LINE…

Our Community Fundraising Team will be getting our trainers on in 2019. Join Cath and Adam #TeamAlderHey at one of the following events and get your free running vest…

LIVERPOOL HALF MARATHON/10 MILER Sunday 10th March

Carrie Redfern and Graham Maly got their trainers on to do the Great Manchester Run in support of son Ben who was born with a heart defect.

Ben has been treated at Alder Hey and the Royal Bolton Hospital.

At just eight-weeks-old, after the first of four open heart surgeries, Ben suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be placed on a ventilator.

PORT SUNLIGHT 5K/10K Sunday 16th June

Ben, now aged three, survived against all the odds, making a miraculous recovery and inspiring his parents, and their company GM Events, to raise money for the services that helped him.

WIRRAL HALF/10K Sunday 8th September

He is a bit of a monkey but he is doing brilliantly and fingers crossed it will stay like that.

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MERSEY TUNNEL 10K Sunday 14th April

CARRIE REDFERN, BEN’S MUM

TOUR OF MERSEYSIDE 30th June – 6th July

SANTA DASH Sunday 1st December FOR DETAILS OF HOW TO JOIN OUR RUNNING TEAM PLEASE CONTACT ADAM ON 0151 252 5705 community@ alderheycharity.org

THE CONISTO Bob Coventry and his family are no strangers to the Coniston Challenge, having taken part in the event on a number of occasions including the first in 2011. His teammates may have changed over the years but Bob has remained a constant, raising thousands of pounds in support of the hospital that treated his daughter Emily for eight years.

Sadly, in March 2018, 21 year old Emily lost her long fight against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

In memory of Emily, elder sister Sarah decided to join dad and brother Charles’ team for the 2018 challenge.

Calling themselves ‘Now’t Better T’Do’, the team, cheered on by mum Jane, set off in glorious sunshine on their first leg to cycle the 17km up and through Grizedale Forest.

Having managed the steep uphill section without incident, a spot of over familiarity on the downhill section of the course lead to a slightly complacent Bob taking a tumble into some nice soft ferns, fortunately hurting nothing but his pride!

As the supporters awaited their return with water and refreshments ‘Nowt Better T’Do’ crossed the finish line, successfully completing the first of three disciplines.

Bob explains, “No sooner had we handed over the cycles, then we were advised to get ready for the second part of our challenge, climbing the Old Man of Coniston. We looked up at the rapidly rising sun and agreed we had to get underway before the heat of the day set in. Also, it was World Cup quarter final day and England were playing 28 The Coniston Challenge

N CHALLENGE at 3.00pm which triggered enthusiasm to carry on!”

Sporting sunglasses and sun lotion, carrying bottles of water and a plethora of energy bars, Bob and the team set off through the town avoiding the temptation of the Rising Sun Inn. When, 80 minutes into the ascent, team member Tim pulled a calf muscle the team feared the worst, but despite suffering jelly like spasms Tim and the team summited and arrived back at base camp 50 minutes before kick-off where they rapidly changed into kayak attire and ran (hobbled!) down to the lake.

With shouts of ‘look at the time … just gimme the life jacket and let’s

go’, experienced canoeists Charles and Sarah, set the pace for the team, slicing through the water like motor driven torpedoes!

Setting off from the final turn and with kick off a mere 10 minutes way, they paddled like frenzied ducks to the finish line, ran the kayaks up the stony beach and headed for the Crown Inn! With England victorious and the team quickly showered and changed they set off for the celebration dinner where they were delighted to discover that they had finished first in the kayaking, having shaved 10 minutes off their previous best time!

All 29 teams successfully completed the Challenge,

covering over 30km and climbing the equivalent of twice the height of the Empire State Building - an incredible achievement given the searing temperatures of the day.

As the post dinner celebrations headed for the Crown Inn for inter team story comparisons, the sun set on a very hot but ultimately rewarding Coniston Challenge 2018.

Bob is already putting together his team for 2019, to join us or find out more information on The Coniston Challenge call Helen on 0151 252 5364 or email helen.hughes@ alderheycharity.org

THE CONISTON CHALLENGE Coniston, Lake District, Saturday 6th July 2019

10km TREK up Old Man of Coniston

Push yourself with this challenging alternative triathlon for teams of 4 or 6 people in the beautiful Lake District. Trek the Old Man of Coniston, kayak 3km across Coniston Water and cycle 17km through Grizedale Forest.

3km KAYAK across Coniston waters

17km CYCLE through Grizedale forest

REGISTRATION FEE: £50 per team MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP: £1,500 per team FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND TO REGISTER

Please contact Helen on 0151 252 5364 or email helen.hughes@alderheycharity.org

POPPY’S STORY Poppy ‘Rocket’ Elsie Keeling was born on 10th November 2017 with a very complicated little anatomy that her parents Jo and Shaun became aware of during pregnancy. she received the best care in the world. The compassion from the nurses, knowledge of the doctors and support we were given as a family was incredible.

Diagnosed with cloaca at birth, Poppy underwent surgery at just two days old but despite the incredible care and her own fight and determination; her parents explain that ‘she decided it was time to take her journey to the stars.’

“Poppy was only with us briefly, for four days, but she put up a bigger fight than most of us will ever know and touched many hearts.

However, she had more important business to attend to and had to be on her way to go explore the universe on her rocket.”

“We also have to mention The Alder Centre Bereavement Team who have supported us as a family from the moment Poppy went to the stars, it’s safe to say, without them, we would not be where we are now. Thank you.

“If Poppy had decided to stay on earth, she would have spent many years under the care of Alder Hey and in the Urology department and her family couldn’t think of think of any better way of honouring her than supporting Alder Hey and helping the hospital to help other children.

“We cannot put into words Jo and Shaun shared their gratitude to the staff at Alder the gratitude we have for such an incredible hospital, Hey; the care our little daughter had here from the nurses, “Poppy stayed on PICU consultants, surgeons, during her time there and

everyone, was unbelievable and the support we had as parents was amazing and knowing how hard everyone worked, and how she was given the best possible chance brings us so much comfort.

“Over £20,000 has already been raised in Poppy’s name through a variety of events including friends and family running the Alder Hey 10K and a hugely successful sponsored walk up Moel Famau.

“We’ve promised that we will always continue to raise money for Alder Hey, for our little girl, for our little astronaut who is now exploring the stars for us.”

Jo, Shaun & Poppy Rocket.

If you would like to set up an Alder Hey Angels Tribute Fund in memory of or in support of a loved one please contact us at tributefunds@alderheycharity.org or call 0151 252 5716 30 Poppy’s story

CHALLENGE HEROES Alistair Marsden’s son has craniosynostosis which, in basic terms means that some of his skull fused early. In 2017 he underwent a cranio vault reconstruction at Alder Hey. To “do his bit to support the amazing team that supported my family”, Alistair completed 12 challenges in 12 months during 2018.

From Crash and Splash in Snowdonia to Mudnificent 7 in Coventry and Muscle Acre near Guildford, Alistair has travelled the length and breadth of the UK and raced over 150km, raising a fantastic £1,160 for Alder Hey.

MARK WALKER-FORD

When Mark and Vicky Walker-Ford’s four year old son James was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in April 2018, their worst fears were confirmed.

Up until his 4th birthday James had been a happy, energetic boy with a smile that would light up any room.

Whilst at CentreParcs celebrating his 4th birthday James started to feel pain in his legs and when, after a couple of weeks had passed and the pain hadn’t gone away, he became unable to walk.

Mark explains “He kept getting ill too, and was falling asleep at preschool. Our happy, energetic boy had gone.”

“There’s a long road of treatment ahead (3 years 4 months in total) to make sure the cancer stays away, but we are comforted in the knowledge that the doctors believe he will make a full recovery.

The support we have received from everyone at Alder Hey has been absolutely first class. They are fixing our boy, so we are forever in their debt.”

Mark, Vicky, friends and family decided to embark on a series of challenges in support of James, including Liverpool Nightrider, the Double Yorkshire Tough Mudder, North West Tough Mudder and the Serpentine Swim.

Not content with these 2018 exploits Mark intends to tackle Europe’s Toughest Mudder (8 gruelling hours through the night!) in May 2019 and is building up to He started the grand finale in 2021 – a full chemotherapy straight Ironman which includes an eyeaway, and six weeks later watering 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile Mark and Vicky were cycle, and 26 mile run! told the cancer had all but gone and he was in Good luck Mark – and thank you! remission.

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ALISTAIR MARSDEN

The support we have received from everyone at Alder Hey has been absolutely first class