Craig Smaaskjaer went for a day out at the beach at Stonehaven with his 8 year old nephew Jack. It was a day normally so happy for their family but on one recent occasion it was tinged with sadness.
Jack was particularly sad as his cousin, James, was too poorly to be there and play with him. Jack decided to write a letter to appeal for people to help his cousin which kick started a campaign that has galvanised the Shetland area.
Craig and Jack - photo credit Darrell Benns
James Hawick, Jack’s 6 year old cousin was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, a rare blood disorder which affects his immune system in July earlier this year.
His family were told that his best chance was a bone marrow transplant, so the family turned to Anthony Nolan in the hope of finding an unrelated donor.
James’s uncle and a committee of Shetland locals are throwing themselves into raising awareness of the register and funds for Anthony Nolan – even setting up a pop up charity shop.
'I would swap with him in an instant'
James’s Uncle Craig said, ‘I want to be able to fix him up and have a laugh like we do whenever we get to see each other. I wish it was me in his place, I would swap in an instant with him - we all would.
James Hawick
‘We desperately need more people to sign up to the register. You could end up saving someone's life without it costing you a penny. You could change the lives of not just someone in need like James, but their entire family too. It is an incredibly powerful thing to be able to do.’
To raise awareness, Craig has decided to ‘push himself to the limit’ by climbing Ben Nevis seven times in seven days for Anthony Nolan starting on the 6th September.. His JustGiving page has already hit the £11,000 mark.
Shetland steps up
Since Craig's campaign started, we have also experienced a big leap in potential donors from the Shetland islands signing up on their website with 450 people applying since July compared to around 7 people in the same period last year.
The charity is also coming to Shetland in September to take saliva samples to sign residents up to the register.
Dates and locations confirmed so far:
Saturday 13th September at Clickimin Centre, Lerwick 11am – 3pm,
Sunday 14th September at Brae Public Hall 12 – 4 pm
Cunningsburgh Public Hall 11am – 3pm
Monday 15th September at North Atlantic Fisheries College, Scalloway 9am – 12pm.
Craig says, ‘The response from the good people of Shetland and my town Aberdeen has been overwhelming – I just wasn’t ready for such a reaction. A local 7 year old girl even forfeited her birthday party to sponsor me and a local boy raised £500 by shaving off his hair – that left a lump in the throat can tell you!
So many people are offering to donate their money and join the Anthony Nolan register. It shows how much support there is in this tight knit community, it’s so motivating to know we’re not alone.’
Amy Bartlett, Regional Register Development Manager at Anthony Nolan, says ‘James’s story highlights how much we rely on the remarkable people who join our register and pledge to save a life by donating their bone marrow or stem cells.
What many people don’t realise is how easy it is to join the bone marrow register – it simply involves filling in a form and providing a saliva sample. We urgently need more young men to sign up as they are the most likely to be chosen to donate but are under-represented on the register.’
How you can help
If you're aged between 16 and 30, and in general good health, sign up here:
Donate money to Craig's lifesaving campaign via his JustGiving page:
To find out more about Craig’s challenge & to donate go to www.7in7forjames.com