A dad has made a £10m ($12.3 million) donation to a children’s hospital after his son was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor.
Julius Jones, five, started experiencing daily seizures last year which sent his parents Clare and Bradley Jones’s “world into turmoil.”
He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor and has had to undergo life-saving surgery.
Businessman Bradley, 36, became so stressed about his son’s diagnosis and making sure he was doing all he could to help that he made himself critically ill.
After a stint in intensive care he vowed to make sure no parent ever feels like he felt and founded the Julius Jones Trust to support the families of sick patients.
Bradley, from Essex, said: “During Julius’s diagnosis and on the lead up to surgery I felt helpless.
“I’m the director of several businesses so I’m used to being in control and knowing what to do so it was a shock to the system.
“I was worried about Julius and how he’d recover after his surgery and I wouldn’t stop trying to help.
“I ignored my own mental health and I got so stressed it made me ill.
“I caught a throat infection, but just left it to get worse as I didn’t want to stop being there for Julius.
“In the end my throat closed up and the infection got in my soft tissue and I couldn’t eat, so I was rushed to hospital.
“I had emergency surgery and they put me in an induced coma.
“When I came out the other side, I felt determined to make sure no other parent experiences the feelings I did when dealing with the illness of a loved one.”
Bradley has raised a huge £10m for Cambridge Children’s Hospital, which is set to open in 2027, through charity donations and his prize fund business Win Amazing.
Win Amazing is where participants can win life-changing prizes in exchange for providing life-changing NHS support.
Amazing holidays, flash cars and million pound homes are up for grabs which have been organized by Bradley and his team.
The business runs concurrently with The Julius Jones Trust which Bradley says will help bridge the gap between the quality of physical and mental care in the NHS.
One hundred percent of the profits from the prize draw are donated to the trust which supports the NHS.
Julius had successful surgery in July this year where medical professionals removed the tumor from his brain which has stopped his seizures.
He is now being weened off epilepsy medication and should hopefully be back to full health in the next few months.
Bradley, a dad-of-three, said: “Once you’re told your son has this life-changing diagnosis you feel like you’re on your own with no one to help or advise you.
“That’s what was missing from the NHS. They’re amazing at fixing the physical side of you but there is a lack of emotional support.
“There’s no one there to tell you it’s going to be okay, and I felt myself wanting someone to talk to to get through the process.
“Other families I’ve spoken to in similar situations as I was have said the same.
“Kids are often the strong ones – it’s the parents around them who are struggling and need support.
“We knew we wanted to start a charity to help support families of patients who are sick so we started The Julius Jones Trust.
“We are on a mission to become the most recognized charity supporting NHS services offering wrap around care that the families of patients need.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
