Young boy in cancer remission calls for Great North Run charity runners to help other children

Daniel Rainbow was diagnosed with neuroblastoma - the same condition which claimed young Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery- when he was two years old.

The shock diagnosis came just three days before his parents Claire and Michael found out they were expecting Daniel's younger sister Emily, who is now two years old.

The family was referred to Rainbow Trust Family Support Worker Sabrina soon after Daniel’s diagnosis and she has been supporting the whole family.

“Life without Sabrina, I’m not sure this is something I could ever imagine,” said Claire.

“Daniel adores her. She plays with him and he has so much fun with her, which is so lovely to see.

“I’ve needed someone to talk to who understands what we, as a family, and me as a mum, is going through. I’ve gone to coffee mornings at the hospital and just having that time and space to talk to other parents has been so helpful. It helps me feel less isolated and more supported knowing and meeting others who are going through the same as us.

“I felt that if I left Daniel’s room and spoke to other parents then it was real, that the nightmare we were living was our life now. For a long time I thought today would be the day the doctors would say, ‘Sorry Mrs Rainbow, we’ve made a mistake and got it all wrong.’”

Daniel, from Stanley, has been in remission for eight months and his parents say while patients with neuroblastoma can have a high tendency to relapse, the five-year-old is doing well.

Claire and other family members are taking on the Great North Run on September 9 in aid of the Rainbow Trust, and are appealing for charity runners to join them to help the organisation support others.

The Trust has 70 places up for grabs, and runners who already have a number can also sign up to run for the charity.

Competitors getting a Rainbow Trust place will need to raise £300 each and pay a £40 registration fee. Rainbow Trust will provide each runner with a Team Daniel running vest and will have cheering squads at the event. Runners will also enjoy a post-race reception and massage and will receive a thank you card designed by Daniel.

The 13.1-mile race spanning Newcastle, South Shields and the North Sea coast, attracts some 57,000 runners each year including celebrities, wheelchair-racers and fun-runners and is filmed live on the BBC.

The money raised from Team Daniel will help families in the North, like the Rainbows, who are supported by Rainbow Trust. The charity enables families who have a child with a life threatening illness to make the most of their time together by pairing each family with an expert Family Support Worker who helps them at home, in hospital and in the community, for as long as it is needed.

Daniel’s family will be filming a video wishing runners good luck and talking about the help they have received from Rainbow Trust.

Claire said: “We would really encourage people to sign up to Team Daniel. Rainbow Trust understands what we have been through, what our life looks like and what it feels like having a child with a serious illness.

"I couldn’t do without them now. If it wasn’t for our Family Support Worker Sabrina’s encouragement to speak to other parents, I’d never have spoken to anyone.”

Oonagh Goodman, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Rainbow Trust, said: “The Great North Run is one of Rainbow Trust’s biggest events of the year and we are extremely grateful to Daniel and his family for backing our appeal calling for people to sign up for it. Money raised from the event will enable families with a seriously ill a child to make the most of the precious time they have together.”

Rainbow Trust is a national charity providing expert practical and emotional support to families, where they need it, to help them make the most of each new day. It relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and thanks to the generosity of its supporters helps over 2,300 families through its nine care teams in England.

For more information or to sign up to The Great North Run visit rainbowtrust.org.uk/events/great-north-run-2018 or contact the events team at events@rainbowtrust.org.uk or 01372 220031.