Have You Heard of the Alder Hey Running Hub?*

As a parent, one of my biggest fears is that my child could get sick. Of course all children get sick once in a while, but i’m talking hospital stay, life threatening illness. It terrifies me, causes many sleepless nights and makes me paranoid. The only saving grace is knowing there are amazing hospitals out there who take care of children, like Alder Hey in Liverpool. Though the tireless efforts of the staff at Alder Hey, children are looked after and many lives saved. They’re the real heroes of this world.

Not only is a long stay in hospital hard for parents, it can be extremely distressing to the children themselves. Recently the hospital installed the Alder Hey Children’s Charity installed technology in the rooms to help divert attention away from the treatment or medical examinations that need to be carrie. It’s aim is to entertain young patients with colourful, bright and positive images that are projected onto the walls. This technology helps to transform what can be a scary experience into an immersive magical world where children can escape from reality and be free from fear and anxiety.

Below I’m sharing Daniel’s story, the technology and equipment used to save his life was bought and paid for by the Alder Hey Children’s Charity.

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.”

All of the Alder Hey Children’s Charity ambassadors help to raise money for the charity so that it can continue to provide vital funds to provide life-saving medical equipment and facilities that make a real difference to families every day.

Daniel was featured in the 2018 Matalan PJs campaign with TV presenter Scarlett Moffatt.

As it is a charity, it relies on money raised my patrons, to continue providing innovative technology that not only saves lives but can make a stay in hospital less daunting for a family and of course provide vital funds to the hospital itself. There are many ways you can raise money from the more traditional ideas bake sales and washing cars or you can check out the Alder Hey Running Hub.

Recently launched the Alder Hey Running Hub is a brand new place online that will hopefully inspire and motivate people to run for charity. Of course, this isn’t a new idea, a lot of people do big runs such as marathons and the Great North Run to raise money for charity.. but for those of us who want to do their bit you can use your the hub to challenge yourself to running a 5K or 10K and raise money for the hospital. Not only that but you’ll find delicious recipes and running tips to help you train for races up to the big ol’ marathon. If you’re a runner and you want to do it for a good cause definitely check out the hub today. Alder Hey is that good cause.