Meet the Stockwells

We wanted to share with you the impact our support services have on families and individuals living with CGD and how they can make a real difference to families when they are facing difficult times.

One of these amazing families are the Stockwells and we were lucky enough to speak with Angela recently, about her amazing son, Sam.

Angela writes:

“I just wanted to take some time out and share our story about our son, Sam, who had a BMT for CGD back in December 2013, following a long illness from the age of 3.

CGD Society helped us in so many ways – from emotional support to all our family, to accommodation help and general practical matters when we were staying at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

I have been thinking about this a lot because in these current, strange times - patients and their families who have recently received a BMT or who are receiving treatment in hospital at the moment still need this support. My heart goes out to them.

If there is anything I could say to anyone on a similar journey it would be keep strong and believe things will get better. Young people are resilient and my Sam is proof of this.

To give you a little insight, Sam missed a lot of school over the years but we wanted to keep in him in his year group at Senior School so he could stay with his peer group and friends who looked after him.

His illness did not hinder his development at all and he left with three good ‘A’ levels and went on to get a 1st class degree in Politics from UEA in Norwich.

He’s now doing a Masters at Kings College in London and getting tremendous results – we couldn’t be prouder of him. Thanks to all the help and support out there for us as a family, Sam is reaching his potential – it’s a joy to behold.

So, when everyone celebrates the NHS and care workers on a Thursday, we have added our own twist to it! We are going to do a ‘denim clap’ with our neighbours (also all dressed in denim) on Thursday to help support CGD Society - our heroes. We will also be clapping for the fantastic NHS and all care workers on the frontline, working so hard to cope with the corona virus during the last couple of months.

Stay safe and strong everyone; this too will pass”

Thanks for allowing us to share your wonderful family story Angela (and thanks to the neighbours too!). Thanks also for fundraising for us at this difficult time - it makes such a difference, thank you so much!

Story shared : 4 June 2020