A 10-year-old boy with Crohn’s disease is aiming to raise money for the Sheffield hospital that supported him through his years-long ordeal.
Willis Gosling wants to raise £600 by Christmas, which will allow him to have his own light up snowflake at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where he spends a large amount of his time.
The family have previously raised over £6,000 in 2018, to help raise funds for children with Crohn’s and Colitis, its treatments, Willis’ well-being and to raise awareness about the disease.
Willis is asking for raffle prizes from Sheffield businesses, having already secured several such as tickets to Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United games.
He was diagnosed with Crohn’s at two years old, after his mother found “large amounts” of blood in his nappies.
Mother Emma Gosling, said: “For the first six years of diagnosis, he had been really unwell. He was in and out of hospital and steroid dependent for four and a half years.
“He was the worst he had ever been in Year One at school, being told the only option was to have a permanent colostomy bag.”
Willis is the youngest child to have been diagnosed with Crohn’s at Sheffield. They told Mrs Gosling it was one of the worst cases they had ever seen, before referring them to Great Ormond’s Street for genetic testing of children under five.
The youngster is local to Chapeltown, and is a pupil at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in High Green, frequently having to miss classes because of his illness.
Mrs Gosling said: “The people that live in Chapeltown have been really good. We have had loads of people coming forward with donations.
“People think Crohn’s is just having diarrhoea and going to the toilet all the time, they don’t understand the implications. Anything that raises awareness of the condition is enough.”
Donations can be made on the family’s JustGiving page.
