Appeal in memory of brave Joshua (From Gazette & Herald)

Appeal in memory of brave Joshua

HEARTBROKEN parents whose son died from a rare cancer have launched an appeal to buy specialist equipment that gave him a precious extra year of life.

Jonathan and Fiona Scarlett-Abbott, of Langton, near Malton, will say goodbye to seven-year-old Joshua on Monday at a funeral service in their village.

The couple, who have a four-year-old son, Elliot, only discovered that Joshua had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after his life was saved by ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation).

The youngster had developed a serious lung infection following a bout of chicken pox last November and deteriorated so much that doctors could not ventilate his lungs.

Joshua's only option was ECMO - inserting a tube close to the heart to pump blood out of the body where it is filtered and oxygenated and returned through another tube in the neck.

This allows the lungs to stop working completely so they can heal.

After successful ECMO treatment at Glenfield Hospital, in Leicester, the diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma was made. Over the coming month Joshua underwent chemotherapy and stem cell replacement treatment.

But he died at Martin House Hospice, at Boston Spa, on Monday.

Jonathan said: "Anybody who met him would never forget him.

"He had a special quality that you can't quite put your finger on.

"He was a boy above his years, just because of what happened to him. He had to grow up so quickly, he had a man's shoulders on a boy's body, he was humbling to be around.

"He may not have been top of the class, but he was a trier, he always put the effort in and he never gave up, right until the end.

"He loved rugby, he loved skiing, he loved his brother and he loved going outdoors. He was just a lovely boy."

The couple now want to raise £75,000 to buy a paediatric ECMO ambulance.

Jonathan said: "ECMO gave Joshua an extra year of life.

"All the treatment he's had has been a nightmare but it gave him an extra happy year, and he packed a lot into it.

"He died in my arms. If it had to happen then it happened in the best way."

To contribute to the appeal send cheques made payable to the J Abbott ECMO Appeal to Carrier House, Main Street, Langton, Malton, near York YO17 9QP or telephone 0870 90 77 101.

Updated: 10:51 Saturday, October 26, 2002