Brave son inspires mum to fundraise

Hester Clarke, from Strathfoyle, has just presented the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice with the proceeds of the inaugural Anthony Clark Annual Sponsored Walk, through which she has raised just over £2,700.

Although Anthony died on March 22 this year, Hester said that rather than being despondent by her loss she felt inspired, because by her son possessed such a positive outlook on life and was always smiling despite his illness. Anthony was diagnosed with the degenerative condition when he was a tiny tot of two and a half, but never allowed his illness to hold him back from enjoying life.

“We celebrated his 18th birthday on February 26, which was the Saturday night before his actual birthday. Even though he enjoyed himself, he as not well after his party, his breathing was bad and he was taken into Altnagelvin. While he was in the Intensive Care Unit all he could do was talk about St Patrick’s Day. He just loved St Patrick’s Day and getting into town to see the parades and all he talked about getting out for St Patrick’s Day.

“He got out of hospital on the Tuesday, a couple of days before St Patrick’s Day. He was so looking forward to it he was checking the weather forecast to see if it was going to be a dry day. He just wanted to see if it was going to be nice for going into town for something to eat and to see the parades,” Hester recalled.

Sadly four days after Anthony’s favourite day of the year, the teenager succumbed to his illness and died.

Last week many Sentinel readers will have seen a photograph of Hester presenting a cheque for £2,742, to Louise McLaughlin, representing the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. The money came from the proceeds of a sponsored walk she organised in memory of her son. Hester has now decided to make the walk an annual event, and has called it ‘The Anthony Clarke Memorial Walk’.

“Anthony got respite care at the Children’s Hospice, and they have a tribute to him up there. They were tremendous with him and he used to spend weekends there, which also gave me a break too. They had a team of qualified carers and staff who really looked after him, and they had fun and games and a TV and an art room.

“We were fundraising every year anyway, even when Anthony was alive and he would fundraise himself. Anthony had a disability which did not bother him. He took everything in his stride and he never questioned or asked ‘why me’. He was a very happy lad and content with everything,” said Hester, adding that her son had been a wheelchair user from the age of nine.

One of her fondest memories was her son being granted the trip of a lifetime to Manchester United where he met the team members and got his photographs taken with them and with the team mascot ‘Fred the Red’.

“He had such courage. He was a real wee fighter. A couple of years ago we did a sponsored walk and raised money from that and his Grandma and Grandpa Boyle were always so involved in looking after him and helping to fundraise, and they even took donations instead of gifts for their birthdays which they donated to the total,” she said.

Asked how fundraising in Anthony’s memory helped her, Hester said: “It keeps a strong sense of him being a part of my life. When he was alive he was such a big part of my life and I take heart from do these sorts of things,” she said, adding: “I am just so grateful to everyone who has helped me over the years, especially the medical staff, but in particular Anthony’s grandparents, who helped with Anthony’s care for the greatest part of his life and gave me respite. Anthony just smiled all the time and raising money in his memory makes me smile.”