Magical mascot moment for football fan
News release and photo for immediate use
Wednesday 26 September 2012
Six year old Deakon Beavers from Thornton-Cleveleys began chemotherapy treatment at just 17 days old. Now six, Deakon is a big Blackpool Football Club fan so Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, the charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions, organised a very special trip for him…
Deakon spent Saturday 22 September at the club’s training ground meeting the players, including his favourite player Tom Ince, and watching them train. He was then invited back on Monday 24 September to watch the Blackpool versus Huddersfield match where he took on the very special task of walking out on the pitch as Blackpool’s mascot! Deakon has never watched a live football match before so his wish was extra special. His Mum, Karen, said: “It was lovely watching him enjoying himself and having fun – he really loved it!”
Deakon needed resuscitating at birth. Hours later he was given a platelet transfusion before being diagnosed at 16 days old with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH – a rare blood disorder). At six weeks old Deakon’s parents were told he wasn’t responding to HLH treatment and there was no other option than for him to have a bone marrow transplant – a procedure he had just a 5% chance of surviving. His bone marrow was sent off for tests which revealed that as well as the HLH he had three different types of Leukaemia, so before having his transplant he endured more chemotherapy. Two days after his transplant Deakon had lung failure and heart problems – he had to have two blood transfusions and four platelet transfusions a day. Deakon was finally allowed to go home at nine months old but was still in semi-isolation. Just before his first birthday he was allowed out of semi-isolation. Deakon now has check-ups every six months and will be on Penicillin for the rest of his life.
Karen said: “Deakon’s wish was just amazing, I can’t thank you enough. It was really lovely for Phillip and me to have some time with just him, as most of our time all together has been miserable.”
There are currently 20,000 children and young people in theUKfighting a life-threatening condition and this year alone 1,400 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their wish granted. The charity needs to raise £6.8 million in 2012 and receives no government funding or lottery grants – so every donation really does count.
To make a donation to Make-A-Wish please visit www.make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 40 50 60.
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For more information about this news release please contact:
Hayley Epps: T: 01276 405093 M: 07557563214 E: hayley.epps@makeawish.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. More photos available if required and the family are available for interview.
2. Please note that Make-A-Wish does not use phrases such as ‘terminally ill’ in order to respect the sensitive nature of life-threatening conditions and what they mean to children and young people and their families. We would ask that this approach is followed and that the term ‘life-threatening conditions’ is used in material for publication.
3. Make-A-Wish should be referred to as Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK in the first instance. Thereafter ‘Make-A-Wish’ or ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’ is suitable. We would ask that you try to keep ‘Make-A-Wish’ on the same line.
4. Make-A-Wish grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions. The charity was founded in the UK in 1986. Registered charity number: 295672/SC037479 www.make-a-wish.org.uk.
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