Today is a very special day, because a book written by an extremely courageous local Barrow lad is being launched in support of the work of the National Children’s Burns Trust.
Fourteen-year-old Charlie is a survivor of extreme burns. Aged just 15 months old, he pulled a large pan of boiling hot water over himself. He had full thickness burns over 10 per cent of his body.
His life was saved and stabilised at FGH, before he was then transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for continued and specialised care.
Three years ago, together with his mum Michelle, Charlie began to write about his experience as a burns survivor. The intention was to create a leaflet to go into the ward at the Royal Manchester.
The book is currently in seven different hospitals in the UK and is being printed by local printers HSP Milners with 5,000 copies on order. All profits go to the Children’s Burns Trust.
Charlie is now 14 and is doing really well. He’s in the academy at Preston North End Football Club. What a remarkable family they are - and how brave Charlie is to share his story too.
When I was first made aware of Charlie’s story, I read it with tears in my eyes. I have three young children myself and I gasped at what happened. Accidents are so unfortunate and random – what is important is that we know what to do if they do occur.
If you’d like to donate and order a copy of Charlie’s Story you may do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/charliesstory Today also marks the second day of Conservative Party Conference (I fully imagine you all have it marked in red in your diaries as a social highlight).
Conference season is a bizarre spectacle at the best of times, but with everything happening in the world right now, it seems doubly so.
Nonetheless, I will be spending the next few days in Birmingham speaking with Ministers and other organisations about levelling up, cyber security, home insulation, submarines and taking every opportunity to advocate for this fantastic part of the world and the issues that people have raised with me.
I have no issues with going for growth, but I do object to the instability that has flowed from last week’s mini-Budget. I’ve already raised this with Ministers and will continue to do so - sustainable growth has to benefit everyone, from the bottom up.
The Government urgently needs to reassure the markets and calm these choppy waters - I will keep pressing that message this week.
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