80 pairs of pointed and tapping toes, countless tutus and two rooms full of dedicated dancing fundraisers completed a ten-hour-long dance-a-thon to raise over £10,000 for our Beam Campaign.
The event held at Turning Pointe School of Dance in Haywards Heath was a sell-out success, with dancers being sponsored to take part in the day, which was organised by Turning Pointe’s owner and principal, Lianne Carter.
Lianne is mum to four-year-old Oscar, who, as a young toddler, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. His treatment required a course of chemotherapy, during which time he and his whole family became all too familiar with the pain and distress that accompany intravenous (IV) access necessary for the chemo to be delivered. On one occasion, Oscar endured up to two hours of attempts to insert a cannula.
Thanks to the ultrasound vein-finding equipment made available through our Beam campaign, the tricky process of cannulation can be made as friction-free as possible. Oscar calls them the ‘magic machines’, and his mum was inspired to raise funds after seeing the remarkable difference they have made.
‘I don’t know why these machines aren’t available in every hospital,’ Lianne said of the vein-finders, ‘it doesn’t make sense to me.’
Lianne is spurred on by the dance-a-thon’s success and keen to raise as much as possible for our Beam campaign, as both the campaign and Children’s Surgery Foundation continue to grow in prominence. Meanwhile, Oscar now has much less anxiety around hospital visits, particularly cannulation, and his treatment is going very well.
Lianne’s fundraising efforts bring our Beam campaign meaningfully closer to its goal of providing ultrasound vein-finding technology to every specialist paediatric centre in the UK.
‘Without the incredible support and energy from volunteers such as Lianne, we could not make the differences we strive for in the lives of children facing surgery.’ says Adrienne Cohen, trustee, Children’s Surgery Foundation.
If you’re thinking of fundraising for Children’s Surgery Foundation, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Helen Ison.