This report is written by team member Diane Blakeley

I work as an Advanced Skills ICT Teacher at Wellfield Business & Enterprise College in Leyland. Today a fundraiser was held to raise money to send one of my Year 9 students, Jamie Turner and his family including his six year old sister, on a holiday. The event was the idea of School Councillor Brenda Lee and her daughter Debbie Lee who is singer in a band called Total Eclipse. Debbie had offered the services of her band for free to raise some funds and the event snowballed from there. Wellfield B&E College staff organised a raffle and tombola, there was lots of hot pot and apple pie available and a second band, Vankwish also performed.

Jamie was diagnosed with Medullablastoma (brain tumour) following a long period of ill health, at the age of 5 years old. This greatly affected his general mobility. Jamie had a year of intensive chemo, although this made Jamie very sick the tumour did respond and he went into remission. Jamie also suffers from growth difficulties, it is unclear if this related to the cancer. He underwent surgery for this being fitted with a frame which he was still fitted with when he started at my school, Wellfield Business & Enterprise College. Unfortunately the brain tumour came back along with secondary spinal cancer. Jamie has only attended school occasionally whilst he is treated at Christies in Manchester. His mum has had to give up work to look after Jamie and the family has since suffered a further blow as his dad has now been made redundant. So a family holiday is something that is very much deserved and it was with great pleasure that Bolton Mountain Rescue Team supported this great fundraiser.

 

Our team landrover ambulance Bolton Mobile 2 along with team members Alistair Greenough, Paul Copley, Kris Kilshaw, Naomi Horan and myself, Diane Blakeley attended the event. We demonstrated some of our rescue equipment and explained the different equipment on the landrovers. Wellfield Head Teacher, Piers Tolson tried his hand at carrying the trauma sac. Whilst School Manager Mary Turner was willingly strapped into the Vacuum Mattress. Then PE Teacher Jamie Lewis and MFL Teacher Kirsty Sumner took their turn at carrying the Alpine Lite Stretcher with Head of English Mrs Murray firmly strapped in. It was an enjoyable afternoon in glorious sunshine.

So far over £3,000 has been raised which is fantastic. Big thanks goes to all those individuals and businesses who donated prizes and supported the event. The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes who through their lodges raised further funding and helped with the organisation of the day. The two bands, Total Eclipse and Vankwish and of course Brenda Lee and other staff members from Wellfield.