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*Welcome to the CLDF Media Room* | Press Releases | Archived Press Releases | 2005 March 8 - Mother Pleas For Recycling To Help Sick Children Like Her Son
2005 March 8 - Mother Pleas For Recycling To Help Sick Children Like Her Son
NEWS RELEASE 3 March 2005 MOTHER PLEAS FOR RECYCLING TO HELP SICK CHILDREN LIKE HER SON Kent mother Lorraine Leonard is urging businesses and schools to recycle their toner cartridges to raise money for the charity that helped her and her family when her son was diagnosed with a life threatening liver condition. Lorraine, from Rochester, wants people to recycle their used cartridges to help the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), a unique national charity that fights liver disease in children and young people. Lorraine’s son Joshua, aged 5, was diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease at just two and a half years old. Autoimmune is a rare liver condition whereby the immune system malfunctions and attacks part of itself, in this case the liver. Lorraine explains: “Joshua first became ill just after Christmas 2001. He had what appeared to be a sickness bug, which he didn’t seem to be able to recover from. We went backwards and forwards to the doctor, but it wasn’t until July that he was given a blood test, by which time he had become jaundiced and his stomach was very swollen. She continues: “When I found out that Joshua had autoimmune I was devastated. It was absolutely shocking to hear that if he had fallen over he could have bled to death, due to the fact that his blood was not clotting properly.” It was during this time that the family first heard of CLDF: Lorraine says: “We first found out about CLDF through the hospital. It is a comfort to know that support is there when we need to talk to someone or have a query. “This year the Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary and I’m hoping that during the silver jubilee year more people will become involved with the recycling campaign, as two children are diagnosed with liver disease every day. If more money could be raised for the Foundation then they could fund more research into why children like my son get liver disease. I would ask anybody who doesn’t recycle their toner cartridges to contact the Foundation and help.” Catherine Arkley, chief executive of the Foundation, says: “I’m really pleased to hear that Lorraine is backing our recycling campaign and hope that more people will get involved. To date the toner recycling scheme has raised more than £20,000 and we hope that this amount will continue to increase. The Foundation believes that effective research is the key to providing a future for children and young people with liver disease. . By recycling toner cartridges people can help us to continue our work.” Joshua is now doing well. Lorraine concludes: “Joshua is on four, sometimes five medications a day, , but he is doing well. He is a bright, happy boy who loves school. I just hope that in the future there will be more research into his condition and that he can lead as normal life as possible without the need for a transplant.” Anyone who would like to take part in the cartridge recycling scheme should contact the Foundations supporter fundraising manager on 0121 212 6007, e-mail supportermgr@childliverdisease.org or visit www.childliverdisease.org ENDS If you would like more information about this story please contact Rebecca O’Connor on 0121 212 6012 or e-mail rebeccaOC@childliverdisease.org
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