Watford News
Peter Pan day at Bushey Grove to raise cash for Great Ormond Street
4:10pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
Gymnastics coach Katie Lewis will be helping colleagues turn the Bushey Grove Leisure Centre in Bushey into Neverland to raise money for the hospital that has been caring for her son.
Katie’s son Dylan Bignell, two, has spent his life in and out of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London while being treated for a condition that has left him with one kidney.
Now she wants to help the famous children’s hospital by raising funds through an event for their annual Peter Pan Week.
The Centre’s popular Fizzifun will be turned into a Peter Pan Runaround Session for the under 5s and with a pirate ship and Peter pan fancy dress from 10.30am until 11.30am on Friday, March 2.
Dylan was born with posterior urethral valve condition which means that his uretha valve was closed instead of open, causing a block to the flow of urine which causes the kidneys to rupture. One of Dylan’s kidneys failed and at just one week old he underwent an operation to open the valve.
Since then he has been closely monitored by the hospital and underwent a second operation to open the valve in April 2010 as it can close up over time.
Dylan’s immunity has also been affected and in January this year he was again admitted to Great Ormond Street as a cold started to affect his only functioning kidney. In the future he may need a kidney transplant.
During his time in Great Ormond Street Katie has stayed with her son in parent accommodation provided by the hospital and Peter Pan Week raises funds for that accommodation.
Katie, 25, who lives in Bushey, said: "Staying with the children in hospital can make a tremendous difference to their recovery.
"It is also comforting to know that your child is not far from you and not on their own, especially when you live so far away from the hospital. I have found it a lifeline when staying there with Dylan and I wanted to raise money for the hospital to continue to provide this opportunity for other parents."
Katie who has been a gymnastics coach for seven years at Bushey Grove Leisure Centre teaches the advanced class on Wednesdays and covers for other coaches when they cannot attend.
Katie added: "Dylan has his costume for the Peter Pan event and I hope other parents and families will come along to help us raise money for such a brilliant hospital and have a lot of fun at the same time."
Centre Manager Paul Toomey said: "Katie’s son and her family have been so well supported by Great Ormond Street Hospital and we are very pleased to be supporting them in raising money at this event.
"You never know when you will need the specialist services of a hospital like Great Ormond Street, and of course most of us hope we never have to. But it is so important that we recognise the role that health services play in our lives and help where we can.
"We hope children, and maybe even their parents, will really get into the spirit of the event and come dressed as their favourite characters."
Entry to the event is £2.60 for members and £3.80 for non-members and staff will also be collecting donations for the hospital throughout the day.