Brothers in run to repay family debt
Sep 13 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal
THE brothers of a terminally-ill teenager are taking part in the Junior Great North Run to say thank you to the nurses who care for him.
Yesterday, the father of Andrew Ellwood spoke of the heartbreaking moment he was told his son would not live to see adulthood.
Andrew, from Mickleton Close, Templetown, Consett, County Durham, was born with a severe form of cerebral palsy that affects every muscle in his body.
When he was just three, his parents Billy, 43, and Jenni, 37, were told the illness would rob him of a full life.
But last week the young music-lover celebrated his 18th birthday, and his father has thanked the nurses who have given the family precious extra years with their son.
To repay the debt the youngster’s brothers are now planning to run the Junior Great North Run to raise cash for St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice, in Gosforth, Newcastle.
Billy, a critical care nurse, said Andrew’s carers had helped the family deal with his condition and had even spotted undiagnosed illnesses in Andrew.
He said: “The first few months of him going to the hospice, they diagnosed that he was in quite a lot of pain.
“We just thought he was an unhappy child, but they said he was in muscular pain. They got him proper painkillers, and he was much happier after that.
“On top of that he was not breathing properly when he went to sleep, and it was causing an oxygen deficiency but they helped to stop that.
“He’s always had problems, but they helped him out in many ways. He has lived a couple of years longer because of what they have done.”
Brothers Richard, 16, a student at St Bede’s Sixth Form in Lanchester, and Alex, nine, who attends St Patrick’s Primary School in Consett, are taking part in the Junior Great North Run to raise cash for the hospice that cared for their brother.
Richard said: “They’ve looked after the family, and we wanted to give something back.
“It’s nice knowing you can do what you can to help around the house. It’s sometimes hard for our parents because of the problems they come up against.
“Andrew is just a ladies’ man. At the parties he has all the girls around him, and he’s a real socialite. He likes listening to music, and just the things that every other teenager enjoys doing.”
Billy also praised the courage of the teenager, saying he had touched the lives of everyone he met.
He said: “Andrew is very infectious. Everyone he encounters seems to become very fond of him. We’ve got a big five-bedroom house, but it was full to the brim for his birthday.
“Even the consultant came to the party, and that’s fairly unheard of.
“People like looking after him and being with him. His brothers Alex and Richard really care about him.”
