Boy, 7, inspired parents' mission for patient gifts

The journey of a seven-year-old boy in remission from a rare cancer has inspired his family to gift thousands of toys to other children on the hospital ward where he was treated.

Ethan, from Brownhills, Walsall, was in Birmingham Children's Hospital for six months after being diagnosed with Burkitt Leukaemia in 2021.

His parents Carl and Laura saw how a "bravery box" of items bought by the nurses helped brighten the children's day and decided to fundraise to top it up.

"To see the kids faces when they can pick toys out of the amount of sacks that we deliver, it's just phenomenal," Laura said.

Ethan said it "took his heart away" to help his parents deliver the toys.

"It was just lovely to see the kids taking toys that they really liked," he said.

"I don't think there's ever a day where we've gone and done a toy drop that none of us have actually broke down," Laura added.

In June 2021, Ethan's concerned parents took him to A&E when dark red spots on his feet spread to his legs.

Within a day, tests confirmed he had stage four cancer.

"We basically moved into the hospital for six months of intense chemo treatment," Laura remembered. "It was a very difficult time."

"It turned our world upside down massively," Carl added.

His parents started a Facebook page to keep friends and family updated and Carl, a lorry driver, began appealing to colleagues for photos of their vehicles to keep the truck-obsessed youngster entertained.

Word spread and before long the page had 6,000 followers, offering support from across the world.

As Ethan went into remission, in December 2021, his parents decided to reach out to the community to help organise a local truck show as a treat.

"It was amazing the amount of money we raised," Carl said. "And he was like, 'can we do this again?'"

"With three years, with the truck shows that we've done, we're currently at just over £12,500."

"And purchased over 7,000 toys for the hospital ward," Laura added.

Ethan's supporters have even flown the family out to a truck show in Brisbane raising money for another children's hospital.

"It was amazing," Ethan said.

In the past year, the family has helped refurbish a communal area on the ward with a playhouse and miniature kitchen, and plan to update a teenage hang-out next year.

Over the next 12 months, they aim to put money towards a sensory room, and buy equipment to help the patients deal with mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy.

Carl has now started training for a cycling challenge to ride from John O'Groats to Lands End in September.

"My logic was, it's north to south so it'll all be downhill. We'll just need bikes with good brakes to stop down the bottom," he said. "We've got exercise bikes, which is a start."

"You need brakes if you're going downhill," Ethan added. "I think they can do it,"

Through the Ethan's Journey charity, the family hope to raise money to buy road bikes for the two men, and are inviting companies to sponsor the trip.

"The more money we can raise to cover our expenses is the more money that goes into the pot to to buy toys and equipment at the end of the year for us," Laura said.

Annie Eytle, head of public fundraising at Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity, thanked the family for their "incredible support".

"One of our key priorities, as a charity, is to improve the experience of our patients and their families, whether that's funding a toy to distract our kids during procedures or items to make their stay more comfortable," she added.

"The gifts donated by the family will help us to do just that, and we're so grateful."

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