We often receive lovely thank you letters in the office, all of which are extremely precious. We remember quite clearly a wonderful card we received after supporting a wish for a young man. The card has always remained in pride of place as we were bowled over by the fact that even though he must have been feeling pretty unwell, he had taken the time and trouble to send such a lovely thank you. It is the little things in life that mean so much and we are so privileged to be able to share Ben’s story with you…
“My beautiful Ben was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2007, aged 7.
Following surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy he did incredibly well until 2012 when he sadly relapsed…
I wanted to make his birthday incredibly special as I knew it could be his last.
He loved Lamborghini’s and I thought how amazing it would be for him to drive one, but how could I make this happen? I started making enquiries, but the wonderful Josie’s Dragonfly Trust stepped in and made his 14th birthday the most magical ever.
We spent the morning at a local Lamborghini showroom where he got to sit in all of the cars, was given lots of Lamborghini goodies and was taken out for a spin in one of the cars.
Additionally, Josie’s Dragonfly Trust organised for Ben to go to a track and drive one. He’d already had a few driving lessons and driving was something so important to him; he talked about passing his test before his best friend and getting a car. We knew this might never happen, so this surprise was super special.
On the evening of Ben’s 14th birthday, we also went out with the family for an Italian meal, Ben’s favourite, again Josie’s Dragonfly Trust organised and made this happen. Such special, precious memories.
The treatment stopped working and Ben went on a clinical trial that failed. Josie’s Dragonfly Trust always kept in touch and asked if there was anything special they could do for him. He was a big Lego fan and since his relapse had started making his own Lego movies. When the new Lego movie was announced he couldn’t wait to go and see it, counting down the days. Unfortunately he deteriorated very quickly and a couple of days before its release, he became bed bound.
Kindly Josie’s Dragonfly Trust sent him some Lego to cheer him up. He died two weeks later, a month before his 15th birthday.
Thank you for the memories… priceless x “
-Written by Sharon, Ben’s mum