Teenager whose 'trip of a lifetime' was cancelled by Covid donates £1,700 fund to Northampton hospital

A charitable teenager taken the cash he was saving for the trip-of-a-lifetime and instead donated it to cancer patients at Northampton General Hospital.

Last August, 16-year-old Edward Bishop-Bailey cycled an epic 140 miles over three days from Whitehaven to Sunderland, all by himself.

The mission was originally so Ed could raise money towards a World Challenge trip to Botswana being organized by his school - but naturally this was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But now, Ed has donated all the cash he raised for the sadly-cancelled trip to the Radiotherapy department at Northampton General Hospital.

Hospital community fundraiser Rob Powell said: "What an incredible challenge to have completed at such a young age – what an incredible young man.

"We are really grateful to Ed for choosing to donate the money he raised to benefit radiotherapy patients at NGH.

"Donations like this really mean a lot to us and to the staff in the department."

Ed’s mum Julie asked him what charity he would like to donate the money he’d raised to and following her treatment for Breast Cancer back in 2019, he told her he’d like it to go towards supporting people with Breast Cancer.

After discussing it further and following the wonderful care Julie received while undergoing her treatment at Northampton General Hospital, Ed decided to donate the £1,749 to the Radiotherapy department via Northamptonshire Health Charity so that it can benefit all cancer patients receiving radiotherapy at the hospital.

Following the refurbishment of the Radiotherapy Waiting Area early last year, part of the plan staff had was to provide free hot drinks for patients waiting for treatment. While this is still the plan COVID19 means the drinks machine is currently having a rest but the provision of the drinks will indeed continue once it is safe to resume.

Ed’s fantastic donation will go a long way in keeping the department going with the necessary supplies to offer these drinks to patients for a good long while.