A seven-year-old boy who is to have three more operations, including one to move nerves from his leg to his face, after having a brain tumour removed says he is delighted to have met some huge stars as part of his charity campaign.
Dermot O’Leary and Carol Vorderman hailed Ravi as an inspiration after his appearance on ITV’s This Morning. Ravi Adelekan’s campaign to raise £250,000 for brain tumour research has started with a bang - with over £45,000 raised in four days. His celebrity-studded cover of ‘A Million Dreams’ now has more than 100,000 streams on Spotify and entered the UK iTunes chart at No.15.
Ravi said: “I think it’s going really well and I’m so proud of the difference we could make.”
After appearing on BBC Breakfast and ITV Meridian Tonight, and all over the regional press, Ravi will soon be back in the operating theatre for a marathon eight-hour surgery on his face.
It is the first in a series of three operations at the specialist Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. The aim is to restore some function and sensation to the left side of Ravi’s face, which is currently affected by his remaining tumour pressing on his facial nerves. After being initially told nothing could be done to help his facial palsy, Ravi will be the youngest person at the Queen Victoria Hospital to have received these surgeries. He will have nine procedures over three operations including moving parts of the nerves from his leg, into his face.
Ravi said: “I’m hoping the operation will make my face look a bit better, but to be honest I’m a little nervous. I don’t really like operations.”
Ravi was so excited by the experience of appearing on This Morning. Presenter Dermot O’Leary also happens to be the author of Toto The Ninja Cat, a series much beloved by Ravi.
He also met Carol Vorderman, whose maths books kept Ravi company during the lockdown. Gok Wan took a few minutes to watch Ravi’s version of ‘A Million Dreams’ and was so moved he put the word out to his 1million followers.
Ravi’s website even crashed for a short time on Friday morning as so many people tried to read more about him and support the project.
Ravi said: “It was amazing to meet everybody and talk about my song and brain tumours. I absolutely LOVE Newcastle United Football Club and it makes me feel amazing that they’ve arranged for me to be a mascot at a match."
It’s been quite a week for the young singer as his single debuted in the top 20 on the UK iTunes chart and racked up hundreds of thousands of views and streams across YouTube and Spotify. Ravi is hoping that getting the single heard in more places will help him reach his ambitious target of raising £250,000 to share between The Brain Tumour Charity and brainstrust.
The multi-talented Adelekan family (including Grammy Award-winning uncle Synematik) have produced and performed a version of the song A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman. The song and video features Ravi, his family and friends alongside global musicians, sports personalities and celebrities, including Bastille, Paloma Faith, Metronomy, Damon Albarn, Coldplay, Mary Berry, Kate Magowan, Leandro Trossard, Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA), Sarah Hunter, The Big Moon, John Simm, De La Soul, Jake Jarman, Jimmy Somerville, Courtney Tulloch and Heather Watson who have all contributed to making Ravi’s Dream a reality.
The video aims to raise awareness of the impact of brain tumours and offers an insight into how funding can truly transform the recovery process of those affected. While we don’t know what the future holds for Ravi, his vision is clear: a future where tumours like his could be treated without the type of major surgery he went through. He would also love for the incredible medical care and support he received at King’s College London to be available everywhere.
You can watch Ravi's video here.
