York toddler raising money for dad's cancer treatment
18 month old Jackson Harker is doing 'laps for daddy' to fundraise for treatment abroad.
Last updated 20th Oct 2020
A York family raising money for cancer treatment abroad are getting a helping hand from their 18 month old son.
Jackson Harker is doing 'laps for daddy' on his daily walks to help fundraise for cancer treatment in Germany.
Jackson's dad Lee, who is originally from Bedale, was diagnosed in January with a rare form of brain cancer: Grade-4 Glioblastoma Multiforme.
Lee's wife Louise told Greatest Hits Radio York that it's been a difficult year: "Lee was diagnosed after having a seizure, and it was completely out of the blue. He was admitted to York Hospital where they found a tumour on the left hand side of his brain.
"Since then he's had three awake brain surgeries and he's gone through four types of chemotherapy and radiotherapy"
"We were running out of options with the NHS, and we did a lot of research into different types of treatment. We came across a cell treatment which can be done in Germany, but it'll cost around £40,000.
"We wanted Jackson to take inspiration from his dad, and feel that when he's older he can look back and think 'I really did my best to spend as much time with my dad as possible'.
"'Laps for daddy' is Jackson doing laps of our street and the surrounding areas in York, and I've been taking little videos of his laps to upload to the JustGiving page".
Louise says Jackson has taken to the fundraising in good spirits: "Jackson absolutely loves the outdoors; when he wakes up in the morning one of the first things he tries to do is go to the backdoor to get out!
"He absolutely loves doing the laps. Throughout all of Lee's treatment he's been our little shining light to get us through and keep us positive"
"We started the goal at £500 to give Jackson a realistic target, but people across the world have read our story and contributed. There's so much love out there from people we don't even know".
The Harker family's fundraising page 'laps for daddy' can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lapsfordaddy?utm_term=AWm6WqZZr