Paul Ackrill

I just got off the phone from a conversation with Gill Ackrill, Paul Ackrill was her son who contracted bone cancer and died in July 2001.

Gill and her husband Barry created a charitable trust to help others who find themselves in the position they were in. This is what Gill has to say about their charity:

Paul's charity is going from strength to strength. Since it was started in January 2001 we have given over £21,000 out in funding to young people under the age of 30 diagnosed with cancer. In addition to providing funding for private scans and treatment that these young people have to wait months for under the NHS, we are also funding patients to relieve financial stress. This is granted not for luxuries but to help with travelling costs, phone bills and normal household bills that build up when a young person is in hospital for any length of time. In most cases the patient or the parents of the patient have to give up jobs, which results in loss of earnings. In such circumstances the charity gives out up to £500 per patient, per year. Patients have to be referred to the charity by a social worker or health worker.

I've agreed with Gill that I will run the 2008 marathon to raise money for their charity.

I'll tell you more about how I came to hear about Paul Ackrill in my next post.