 Unsung heroes finally find a voice when our annual WellChild Awards take place.
The star-studded fourth annual WellChild Awards took place on Monday 27 October 2008 with a host of well-known faces helping to celebrate the amazing achievements of our winners.
The WellChild Awards celebrates the bravery of children and young people coping with serious and complex illnesses and conditions – and also honours the dedicated doctors, nurses, teachers, brothers and sisters who go the extra mile to make a difference to the lives of sick children. If you've been inspired by the bravery of a child, or by the dedication of someone who cares for children, take time to nominate them for next year's Awards by completing the online form.
 Celebrities joining us for this year’s awards were comedian Alexander Armstrong, WellChild patron and Dragon’s Den star Duncan Bannatyne, GMTV presenter Kate Garraway, DIY SOS front man Nick Knowles, the One Show’s Dr Sarah Jarvis, CelebAir host Angellica Bell, TV presenter Michael Underwood, PR guru Max Clifford, Strictly Come Dancing’s Iain Waite, Awards presenter and BBC Newsnight host Emily Maitlis and many more.
This year’s winners in the Best Brave Child category, chosen by our judging panel from a record number of nominations, are:
Harvey Fleming (aged four) from North Lincolnshire who has not let a difficult start to life – months in hospital attached to machines to keep him alive – get in his way. Harvey is such a special, smiley little boy that his foster parents have recently been successful in their desire to formally adopt him.
Lily Slater (aged four) from Tyne and Wear who has never once complained through months of painful and tiring treatment for a brain tumour.
Lizzie Lansley (aged eight) from Southampton whose doctors weren’t sure would ever walk due to a tumour on her spine and is now training at county level in Judo.
Jordan Mount (aged eight) from Glasgow who keeps on joking with nurses through numerous operations to improve his chances of surviving a devastating disease which could destroy his organs if not treated
Jade Arnell (aged 11) from the Wirral, whose brain disorder causes excruciating headaches and repeated surgery while her focus is to keep her Mum from worrying
Thomas Arrol (aged 10) from Cleveland, a true fighter, as he struggles to walk and talk after being diagnosed with a tumour on the spine when he was five.
Anna-Mae Cole (aged 12) from Newton Abbott, Devon, who now beams with confidence while coping with two devastating conditions at the same time. Anna-Mae suffers from benign tumours on her face, and her legs will be in plaster until she’s stopped growing.
Haydn Longworth (aged 14) from Cheadle in Cheshire who puts aside his pain and disability from a chronic condition which restricts his limbs from growing, and is always trying to make other people happy.
 Toni Bewley (aged 18) from North Wales, who has charmed everyone with her beautiful smile through a life-long battle with Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus and more recently chronic lung disease.
Drew Wayment (aged 17) from Upper Belverdere, Kent, who turned to coaching younger children to play his beloved game of rugby when treatment for bone cancer ended his chances of playing for England Under 16’s.
Two other amazing teenagers, Lloyd Michael Joiner (aged 15) from Chichester and Ellie Devereux-Roberts (aged 13) from the Wirral, will also receive awards for being outstanding carers to their seriously ill brothers and sisters.
Winners in the adult and professional categories are:
Best Nurse, Irene McArthur from Glasgow
The Best Medical Team, the Star Project from Manchester
Best Doctor, Dr Alan Bosley from North Devon
Best Community Practitioner, Mary Lait from Lincoln
Best Allied Health Professional, paediatric play specialist Elizabeth Wilkinson from Oxsted
Best School Professional, headteacher Trystan Williams from Calne in Wiltshire
|
