Little Miracle, James Smart and his family raise over £2,000 for Meningitis UK
Ellie Craven, whose son James miraculously survived meningitis after his life support machine was switched off, presents Meningitis UK with a cheque for over £2,000
On Friday, mother, Ellie Craven from Wakefield, whose son James Smart almost died from pneumococcal meningitis earlier this year, but made a miraculous recovery after his life support machine was switched off, will be presenting Meningitis UK's Chief Executive Steve Dayman with a cheque for over £2,000. Ellie and her partner Adrian Smart and their family and friends raised £1,800 by taking part in a 19 mile stretch of the charity's marathon walk from John O'Groats to Land's End in October. The cheque will be presented at a fundraising event that Ellie and Adrian have organised at the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Rugby Club on Friday 8th December, to raise more funds for Meningitis UK.
Ellie said "The walk was a really good day out and we managed to raise a lot of money for Meningitis UK, which is a charity very close to our hearts. A vaccine needs to be found to eradicate meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia as it is devastating when your child is so seriously ill and we don't want other families to have to go through what we did. We are so thankful James survived."
All proceeds raised will go towards supporting Meningitis UK's research to find a vaccine to eradicate meningitis. Although successful vaccines exist to protect against some forms, there is still no vaccine available to protect against all strains, including the most common form in the UK - meningococcal group B, which causes both meningitis and septicaemia and accounts for over 60% of all cases.
Steve Dayman, Chief Executive of Meningitis UK said, "We are really grateful to Ellie and Adrian and their family and friends for all their tremendous support and generosity. We are confident that through dogged persistent research and with the support of the general public, new vaccines can be developed."
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
