Harry's Legacy
Harry Flitterman was eight years old when he was first diagnosed with leukaemia whilst on holiday in the USA with his family, in 2011. After three weeks in hospital in Philadelphia, he was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital on his return to London and was under their care for six years, including a bone marrow transplant in 2015. After it became apparent that his leukaemia had returned in 2017, he was transferred to UCLH ward T12N, under the expert care of Professor Rachel Hough and her excellent team.
Harry died aged 16 at the beginning of 2020 and spent a very large part of the last two years of his eight and a half year leukaemia journey on T12N. As his parents and siblings describe, he was so at home there. They are also very keen to emphasise that the love, care, and attention he received from the nursing team, all the doctors under Professor Hough’s guidance, the play team and the education team was second to none, and Harry just felt comfortable and safe there. The care was nothing short of phenomenal from everyone and they remember so vividly how loved and supported he felt.
During this two-year period, he received a fortnightly massage service, which most definitely helped him to relax and which he loved. It became more and more important to him as he became more and more unwell, but sadly towards the end, the funding for the service was withdrawn and it was no longer available to him.
His family are committed to maintaining this service in Harry’s memory, just as he would have wanted and expected. He knew how special it was to be able to have an hour a week if he was well enough, just to relax and maybe forget about his illness for a very short while, and the massage team treated him so sensitively and kindly. If anyone wishes to donate, please do so at justgiving.com/page/daniel-flitterman-3.
Harry’s family are eternally grateful for whatever support everyone feels they can give.