Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital: Daniel’s Story

Alder Hey Children’s Charity Ambassadors are children from all walks of life, who have been treated at Liverpool’s Alder Hey, or are a relative of a patient who has undergone treatment at our children’s hospital. Childhood should be filled with happiness, laughter and fun but when a child becomes ill, children often have to be brave and grow up quickly in order to deal with the difficult time in their life. Alder Hey Children’s Charity want to support all of the children who come through their doors. Everything they do is with the amazing Alder Hey patients and their families in mind.

Just ask Daniel Bell, and his mum Rosalind.

When three year old Daniel was diagnosed with a brain tumour, he was rushed to Alder Hey, a centre for excellence on brain conditions. The tumour was the size of an adult fist and there was a possibility that the surgery which would save his life could also rob him of key motor and mobility skills.

Thankfully, his surgeries were aided by Alder Hey’s state of the art 3-T MRI scanner. The device, which was paid for by the charity, allows surgeons to scan the brain during surgery and assess the success of the operation in the operating theatre and not many months after recovery. The equipment was featured recently in an episode of Hospital on BBC2, again in a lifesaving situation.

Daniel is now a healthy and active six year old boy, and a budding actor besides, who was recently seen in a production of Little Shop of Horrors with his local Performing Arts Club. 

He also raises money for Alder Hey; and was proud to be named a Young Ambassador for the charity. So far, Daniel and his family have raised more than £22,000 for Alder Hey. They’ve accomplished this by collecting people’s Christmas trees. But this is just one of the many fun and exciting ways the fundraisers young and old can help out, from bake sales and charity car washes to exhilarating park runs.

All of Alder Hey Children’s Charity ambassadors help to raise money for the charity so that they can continue to provide vital funds to provide life-saving medical equipment and facilities that make a real difference to families every day.

Recently they have installed distraction technology within our wards to help distract the attention away from the treatment or medical examinations that need to be carried out by our medical professionals, and entertain young patients with colourful, bright and positive images projected on the walls of the room. This immersive technology helps to transform a white walled ward into a magical world where children can escape from reality and be free from fear and anxiety.

To be able to continue to provide innovative solutions such as the distraction technology and provide vital funds for Alder Hey, the charity rely on the support and kindness from the public. There are many fun and exciting ways for you to help and support Alder Hey Children’s Charity such as host your own bake sale, host a charity car wash or sign up to run a charity race. Alder Hey Children’s Charity has recently launched a brand-new running hub to inspire and motivate people to run for charity. With delicious recipe ideas, running tips and 5k, 10K, half marathon and marathon training guides, if you’d like to challenge yourself to run a 5K, 10K or even a marathon we would love to you go and check out the Alder Hey Running Hub now.