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Young football fan Jed walks out with Ebbsfleet United
ellenor’s children’s team and corporate partnerships team arranged a special VIP Day for six-year-old Jed Murphy while he undergoes leukaemia treatment.
For a few precious hours, six-year-old Jed Murphy was not a little boy going through leukaemia treatment.
Instead, he was an Ebbsfleet United mascot, proudly walking onto the pitch beside his favourite players as crowds of fans looked on.
The special day was organised by ellenor after staff heard how much Jed loved the club, giving him and his family a chance to swap hospital appointments for football, photos and time together supporting the team he loves.
Joined by his older brother Harley, cousin Levi and other family members, Jed spent the day meeting players, walking out onto the pitch and taking home Ebbsfleet gifts and souvenirs.
The visit was arranged with support from Ebbsfleet United and teams across ellenor, including children’s services and corporate partnerships.
Nurses at ellenor, who have been helping Jed and his family since his initial chemotherapy treatment, organised Jed’s VIP visit when they heard how much he loved the team.
His mum Danielle said: “We wouldn’t have gone if it hadn’t been for ellenor. It was fantastic for Jed as Ebbsfleet has always been part of his life. As parents you are so scared when you get this sort of diagnosis – ellenor can’t predict what will happen but they make everything seem so normal. They have been great and I couldn’t imagine going through this without them.”
Jed’s leukaemia diagnosis in March last year came as a “massive shock” to Danielle and her partner, also Jed. They stayed by their son’s hospital bedside while family were caring for their five other children at home.
They first became aware that Jed wasn’t well when he kept getting different illnesses and was tired all the time.
Danielle, who lives near the hospice in Northfleet, said: “We noticed one day he had this rash on his cheeks which kept coming and going so we took him to A&E, where they thought he might have scarlet fever and did his bloods.
“I could never have imagined what would come next. They took me into a room and said it looked like he had leukaemia or hepatitis, but we hadn’t been abroad recently, so it wasn’t likely to be hepatitis. We waited three days to get the actual diagnosis then we went to St George’s Hospital in London. He already had an enlarged liver and spleen.”
The doctors fitted a Port-a-Cath under Jed’s skin so they could administer his treatment more easily and then the family were sent to the Royal Marsden hospital, where they stayed for nearly two months while Jed’s liver recovered and he had chemotherapy.
After that the family worked with doctors and dieticians to bring Jed home so that Danielle and Jed could also spend time with their other children.
Danielle said: “That was when the ellenor children’s nurses first became involved,” said Danielle.
“Jed has always been very shy, but after his diagnosis he stopped speaking almost completely. He would only communicate through little noises with me and his dad. That was how he coped at the time.”
The first ellenor nurse who came to visit Jed at home was Children’s Palliative Care Nurse Specialist Tina Dodd.
Danielle said: “We were new to this situation and didn’t know what they would be coming to do but Tina just explained everything to us as though it was totally normal. She built a good relationship with Jed – and he did slowly start speaking to her. She would tell him jokes and was fun.
“ellenor help with everything,” Danielle said. “If I’m worried about anything to do with Jed’s treatment, I know I can pick up the phone and someone will help us or find the answer.”
Another ellenor nurse, Roisin Egan, who visits Jed weekly for treatment, has become another familiar face in the family’s life.
“She always makes time to play with him after his blood tests,” said Danielle. “He’s had her riding a Didicar and bouncing on a space hopper. She did draw the line at holding his pet gerbils though.”
“He really takes pleasure in playing pranks on Roisin,” said Danielle. “They have a laugh and she always brings something fun or silly with her. It helps take his mind off everything he’s going through. She’s become part of the family and all the children adore her.”
Danielle takes Jed and his younger siblings to ellenor once a month to meet other parents and families in a similar situation through the newly formed Oncology Support Group, where children can play together while parents connect and support one another.
“It’s just nice that the children can play and I can sit and have a coffee and a chat with some of the other mums,” she said. “It’s so good for Jed to be with children going through similar illnesses. This has been a hard time for all the children, so it is good for them to meet other families – for Jed to see other kids who have lost their hair – they have something in common.”
Danielle remains understandably cautious about Jed picking up infections, meaning he has only been able to attend St George’s Primary in Northfleet a handful of times this year.
“He does like school and they have been excellent with him,” she said. “He loves seeing his friends and he’s turned into a bit of a celebrity, even with some of the older children.”
ellenor’s play therapist, Suzi Hill, has also visited the school to spend time one-to-one with Jed and help him feel more settled while going through treatment.
Jed still undergoes chemotherapy every month alongside daily chemotherapy medication.
“His hair has started growing back because he’s having less chemotherapy at the moment, although it could still fall out again,” said Danielle.
“But he recently had his first haircut since the diagnosis, and it was just really lovely for him to do something normal.”
Ebbsfleet United CEO Damian Irvine added: “ellenor have been such a vital, well-loved and wonderful service at the heart of our local community for such a long time and we are proud to call them one of our charity partners. It was a pleasure to host Jed and his family at our last game of the season and very humbling and gratifying to know how much he enjoyed the experience. We wish him all the very best in his ongoing treatment and will be only too happy to welcome him back to see his favourite team in action again soon.”
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