Friends to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to help teen '˜repay' children's hospital

Andrew Davies, 18, of Old Brampton, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) when he was 13 and had to have a bone marrow transplant.

To repay the ‘amazing’ staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital who looked after him, he decided he wanted to raise a huge £150,000 – the cost of a bone marrow transplant to the NHS.

Thanks to Mark Blagden, Mark Rendall and Terry Sau – who will be climbing Kilimanjaro today and have raised more than £5,000 – Andrew has now hit the £130,000 mark. They wrote on their fundraising page: “This certainly represents the most significant challenge that any of the three of us have taken on, given that we all spend our days behind a desk and have rarely had to sleep even one night on anything other than a comfortable bed.”

The good news does not stop there for Andrew, as he has also received a Points of Light Award from Prime Minister Theresa May for his fundraising efforts.

In a letter to Andrew, the Prime Minister said his fundraising was ‘truly remarkable’.

On his award, Andrew, who is heading to university this month, said: “Sheffield Children’s Hospital saved my life so volunteering and fundraising for them is something I have been very passionate about over the last five years.”

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