Our darling son, Tom, died on the 10th December 2010. He fought so hard and so well for 16 months but his malignant brain tumour proved too devastating for even the bravest of boy pirates.
As a family we decided to create a charity in Tommy’s name, to celebrate six precious years of a remarkable and adored little boy. So we set up The Tom Grahame Trust and, through the generosity of so many, we’re delighted to say we have now raised in excess of £280,000.
The trust has three objectives. First, to build a pirate themed playground at Tommy’s school in Clyro, near Hay on Wye. We’re delighted to say that, after many months of hard work, Tom’s Pirate Playground will launch on the afternoon of Friday 19th October. It’s a wonderfully original design – complete with a zip wire, pirate boats and a crow’s nest - that we hope will give many children a wonderful place to play and explore for many years to come.
Secondly, we are setting up Tom’s Gift. This project is a gift for every child in the UK diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. It’s designed as a little something to help them get through their treatment – Tommy particularly appreciated the toys he was given during his time on chemotherapy. We are delighted to say that we will be working with MacMillan Cancer Support to launch Tom’s Gift – more news to follow shortly.
Finally we have donated £90,000 to Professor Steve Clifford at Newcastle University to fund a three year research project into the biggest ever biological study into high risk Medulloblastoma. This should lead directly to improved treatment for children in Tom's situation.
We are still fundraising for the maintenance and upkeep of the playground so do please help us in any way you can. In the meantime, thank you to all those who have given so generously to The Tom Grahame Trust.
Thank you
Corisande, Angus, Iona and Lisabel Grahame