Over 700 messages of sympathy and support have been posted to the Facebook page which championed an appeal to raise £100,000 for pioneering Cancer treatment for an Isle of Wight teenager.
Sadly, news broke yesterday (Monday 30th June) that 13 year old Joe Ellis had lost his battle against mediastinum large B cell lymphoma which had been diagnosed a year ago.
The campaign to raise £100,000 had been dubbed ‘Joe’s Journey’and regular updates were posted to a Facebook Page as well as Twitter.
Touched the hearts of Islanders
Joe Ellis‘ story touched the hearts of so many Islanders and the fundraising campaign saw an astonishing response, with over £55,000 being raised in just a matter of weeks.
Testament to the support for the campaign, yesterday over 700 comments were left on the Joe’s Journey Facebook page with the news being shared hundreds of times across the social media network.
(Click on ‘711’ [the number may rise] link at the bottom of the embedded post below to read the comments)
On our own Isle of Wight News Facebook Page, there were 111 shares and 96 comments reaching over 23,000 people.
(Click on ’96’ link at the bottom of the embedded post below to read the comments)
Condolences from Joe’s school
Pat Goodhead, Principal of Christ the King College, said,
“Joe was a very popular, much loved and incredibly brave young man. The whole College community is deeply saddened by the loss of this wonderful young man who will always be missed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are very much with Joe’s family at this difficult time, and we hope they can take some comfort from the joy and fun Joe brought to our College and the huge respect in which he was held.”
Joe’s story
Joe was diagnosed with primary mediastinum large B cell lymphoma a year ago. He had been through radiotherapy and chemothearapy, with no sign of remission.
Southampton Hospital had agreed to fund the first three of a pioneering cancer treatment from the US. Joe’s family needed to find £100,000 for the remaining 13 treatments, just in case their funding application to the UK panel wasn’t successful.
The fundraising was primarily for Joe’s treatment, but it will now be donated to other Island children who are in the same situation.
Joe’s legacy lives on
You can donate by using the following bank details : Lloyds bank, Joe Ellis Trust, account number : 04427368, sort code 77 25 16, or via paypal :[email protected]
