<div><strong>Our Daniel</strong>
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<div>Daniel was a healthy thirteen year old boy living at home with his mum (Julie), dad (Nigel), and his two sisters Emily and Charlotte.
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<div>Danny was very outgoing, charming, and confident. He was very sociable, and known locally by everyone. He loved to stop for a chat and would always say good morning to people, whether he knew them or not.
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<div>He was a very active member of the cub and scout movement, enjoying camps and other activities. He was also very active in his school life being a respect ambassador and a member of the school council.
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<div>His faith was also very important to him, helping out and walking in the annual village procession of witness. Dan would also assist the priest at the local church as an alter server.
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<div>He had a love of singing, dancing, telling jokes and stories. He loved his skate board, scooter and bicycle and was never off them.
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<div>He has many interests: palaeontology, lego, reading, action figures, cars, planes and playing numerous different sports, and following his first love Manchester City Football Club.
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<div><strong>October 2022 </strong>
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<div>In late October 2022, his mum took him to the doctors with flu type symptoms and a sore throat, he just seemed under the weather. The doctors diagnosed Dan with a cold and his mum was told if symptoms were to persist after 72 hours to bring him back and they would prescribe antibiotics. The symptoms of the cold continued along with a slight lack of balance, and so his mum took him back to the doctors and was prescribed antibiotics for tonsillitis and an ear infection.
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<div>The symptoms did not improve, and 72 hours later, after the family evening meal on the 04/11/22, Daniel went to his bedroom to watch some television and play with his action figures. His parents had a discussion, and decided something needed to be done, and Dan was not getting any better as he was still unsteady on his feet and his symptoms were the same.
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<div><strong>Diagnosis</strong>
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<div>The next day, 05/11/22 , Daniel along with his mum attended Whitegate Drive walk in centre, in Blackpool at 9am . After a seven hour wait, and after his mum asking for him to be checked properly, he was sent to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for further assessment. Danny and his mum arrived at 4pm and was kept in overnight and had the relevant tests, including a CT scan. The following morning, Julie was told that Daniel had a mass on his brain and it was probably a tumour. He was then blue lighted to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital on the evening 06/11/22 and he has not returned home since.
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<div>Over the past year, he has had many operations. In November 22 Dan had a biopsy on the tumour along with further tests. He was diagnosed with a low grade glioma in the centre of his brain on his brain stem. On the 24 November 22 he had a portacath fitted in his chest, ready to start an 84 week chemotherapy treatment plan. Unfortunately, Dan had a seizure whilst being sedated, at this point Daniel’s condition rapidly deteriorated , physically, cognitively and with his communication.
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<div>By the 23 December 22, Danny had acquired a movement disorder down his left side, tremoring like a parkinsons patient, he also became completely non responsive and could not be roused. As a family our worst fears had become reality, with our healthy boy no longer waking up from a call of his name or tap of his shoulder. The medics explained that the brain tumour was pressing on the brain stem and without an emergency operation to debunk the tumour, Daniel had days to live.
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<div>The operation was carried on the 23 December 22 and lasted 12 hours. This was not a success. The family were informed that Daniel had suffered a stroke and important structures in the brain had been compromised. Dan was transferred to intensive care unit, where he remained on a ventilator. On the 13 January 2023, on our daughters 18th birthday, the family was told Daniel was incredibly poorly and may pass away. Daniel was non responsive for 3 months and needed help to breath with a ventilator. Slowly, Danny started coming back to life and the ventilation started to be decreased. After being in the intensive care unit for three and a half months, he was transferred to the high dependency unit (HDU). Daniel spent four and half months in the department. Daniel was reliant on oxygen for seven months in total.
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<div>Whilst in HDU, occupational therapy started to work with him, hoisting him into his therapy chair every day to try and build his strength.
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<div>In May 2023, Daniel started to deteriorate again and it was found that he had hydrocephalus, a build up of fluid on the brain, and so he had his second emergency operation. This time it was successful, and he started to improve again slowly.
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<div><strong>The Impact</strong>
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<div>The impact on family life has been immeasurable. Daniel’s older sister Emily has learning difficulties and was diagnosed with psychosis being sectioned in August 22 under section 2 of the Mental Health care act and then section under section 3 in November 22 which has meant from August 22, family life has been fractured and far from normal.
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<div><strong>The Breakthrough</strong>
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<div>The love, prayers, emotional support, practical assistance, gifts and financial donations we've received from our family, friends, local community and the wider public have been amazing. Generous fundraising activities have included, among many others, concerts by Freckleton Band and the Warton Singers, a bed push from Fleetwood to Freckleton by the Running Club, and various initiatives by the churches and their affiliates. By the beginning of summer 2025, we were about three-quarters of the way towards our target of raising £100,000 so that we could adapt our new family home for Dan to come back and live with us.
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<div>Meanwhile, earlier in 2025, we applied for help from the BBC's 'DIY SOS' programme. Our family went through a long, rigorous and tense selection process. Then, in early June, we received the astounding news that the 'DIY SOS' team had accepted our request. July was a whirlwind of a month for us all. It was incredible to see how many traders and volunteers flooded in to give their time and resources, sometimes working through until the early hours of the morning, to get our family home ready for Dan. A large share of the money we had raised also went towards the costs. On the big 'DIY SOS' reveal day, a multitude of supporters, brimming with emotion, filled our street to welcome Dan as he arrived for a quick visit to see his new home and meet the 'DIY SOS' team. Despite Dan's still heavily limited mobility, he even managed to smile, give a thumbs-up and join in with the crowd's rapturous applause.
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<div>The 'DIY SOS' programme will be broadcast sometime in 2026, at a date and time yet to be announced. Until then, we'll continue to post updates on this page.
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<div>By the end of July 2025, our house was ready for Dan to come home. However, before he could be discharged from hospital, he needed to undergo an operation to reconstruct his left ankle and foot. Also, his care package had to be assessed and implemented.
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<div>On Monday 29 September, Dan had the operation at Manchester Children's Hospital, which was successful.
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<div>Finally, on Wednesday 29 October, he left hospital for his new home and life.
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<div>For the last three years, Mum had been living at the hospital, supporting Dan. Dad had gone to back to work for four days a week as there was no financial support. The remaining three days of the week, dad and Dan’s sisters had been supporting both mum and Dan at the hospital. Emily is out of hospital but requires a lot of reassurance and support from family members. This routine had been our lives for the past three years, increasing fatigue, stress and anxiety between us all.
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<div><strong>The current situation</strong>
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<div>Dan requires non-invasive ventilation at night. He is hoisted for all transfers and needs help with all aspects of his personal care and is fed via a naso-gastric tube.
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<div>He can see, hear, identify who people are and smiles when he is happy. Danny is non verbal, therefore he struggles to communicate his wants and needs. He is unable to sit independently and needs support via his wheel chair or special sitting out chair. His bed has a pressure relief and sleep system to stop sores and to keep his body aligned whilst asleep. He has finished his chemotherapy treatment of 70 weeks, (as the original 84 weeks was felt to be too aggressive as he was so poorly) and he constantly suffers from extremely high temperatures and fatigue, even though he must be feeling so unwell, over the months there has been small improvements in his presentation, which is more than we could have hoped for given his very guarded prognosis by his medical team.
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<div>Dan has recently been diagnosed with dystonic storms, and his medical team are still trying to find a way to control them.
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<div><strong>'Dan's next steps'</strong>
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<div>You can continue to follow Dan's day-to-day story of his successes and struggles on this page as hs endeavours to return to being a part of the community he loves.
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<div>He is very positive about the future, and with everyone's help, 'Dan's next steps' are assured.
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<div><strong>Our ask</strong>
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<div>It's difficult to find the words to express how thankful we are for all the support we've received. It's truly amazing: the world is full of kind and caring people. There have been so many single acts of kindness and generosity that have come together to produce an overwhelming result.
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<div>If people still wish to donate, or feel moved to donate when they watch the programme, to help Dan as he adjusts to his new home and life, we'll be deeply thankful. Dan would benefit from additional rehabilitation, therapies and equipment which are not readily available on the NHS.
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<div>Our little family has always been very close-knit, and we are reaching out for help because we have achieved so much through the power of community. With your continuing support, we can increase Dan's life chances and ensure his future.
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<div>Every contribution, no matter the size, will really make a difference.
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<div><strong>Hopes for the future</strong>
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<div>Our goal for the future is that we can continue enjoying life with Dan and making memories, with the hope that he carries on to improve with love, support, and the right rehabilitation.
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<div>Our wildest dreams would be that he becomes verbal with small words, yes or no, to tell us his wants and needs and to gain enough movement in his upper body to control an electric wheelchair to give him some independence back.
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<div>As a family, we thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support means more than anyone would ever realise.
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Kathy Adams

Gayner Smith

Barry Johnson

Jan Kneen

Anonymous

Rosemary Gornall

Michael Threlfall

Gail Bradley

MAUREEN LYNCH

Melanie Conneely

Rosalind Dodd

Andy Ramsbottom

Get Dan home after brain tumour heartbreak - his next steps

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Get Dan home after brain tumour heartbreak - his next steps

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