GENEROUS friends, family and colleagues of a former moto-cross star have raised £4,000 in his memory to help others.
The funds raised in memory of Lawrence Bird will be used to buy specialist beds to allow more terminally-ill patients to also spend their last days at home with their families.
Mr Bird, of Rushmere St Andrew, Ipswich, died after a long fight with bone and liver cancer on July 1 but was able to spend his last days at home with his wife Sarah and 26-year-old son Aston thanks to an electric air mattress donated by Suffolk Community Equipment Services.
After his death Mrs Bird set up a fund to raise money to help others in a similar situation and raise awareness that there was such a service.
After collecting £4,000 Mrs Bird was able to make a presentation at the Bluebird Lodge centre, Ipswich, yesterday.
The money was enough to buy two beds, complete with electric air mattress and syringe drives. Mrs Bird said she was “overwhelmed” as the amount was £1,000 more than anticipated.
She said: “It is a lovely tribute to Lawrence, who was very much respected and well liked by all who knew him.
“My dad, John Rush, sadly died of cancer eight years ago in St Elizabeth Hospice and it is a wonderful place, but it was so important to us to have Lawrence at home.”
She said the loan bed allowed her husband to die peacefully and with dignity and thanked everyone who had helped to raise the money.
Source link: http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED23%20Nov%202007%2012%3A51%3A24%3A227
the mattress store offers new englander mattresses and a variety of secondhand mattresses, including pillow top and standard twin, full, queen and kingesses at discounted prices, said Shelly Kern, who opened the shop with her husband, Kerry Kern, near the end of October.It’s also Kern’s goal to donate mattresses and assist various community organizations like The Baby Fold, Home Sweet Home Ministries and Recycling Furniture for Families.“We just opened up, and there’s already a need,” Kern said.Kern became more involved in charitable programs when her son Andrew became sick and eventually died from cancer in 2005. She supports national charities like the American Red Cross and United Way but also sees a need to reach out specifically to a local sick, elderly person without family nearby who just wants a Christmas meal.“They need attention, too, and that’s our community, that’s our area where we’re living,” Kern said.Since her family moved to Normal a year and a half ago, Kern has spent about eight months as a front desk receptionist for Home Sweet Home Ministries. She’s now a part-time residential counselor with Chestnut Health Systems.The mattress store offers new Englander mattresses and a variety of secondhand mattresses, including pillow top and standard twin, full, queen and king sizes, Kern said. The store has box springs and bunk beds, too.The store will celebrate its grand opening from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov
Source link: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/09/money/doc4734bfefa37f1315067200.txt
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