McBusted’s Harry Judd’s support for brave St Albans boy

McBusted’s Harry Judd had his drumsticks at the ready when he paid a special visit to a two-year-old cancer sufferer last weekend.

Harry was at Keech Hospice on Saturday to see Oliver Marchant, of Ladies Grove, St Albans, who has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in April last year.

He has been described as a “true fighter” and has also had an operation to remove a tumour, radiotherapy and is now on a six-month course of drugs.

Harry and his wife Izzy, who is from Harpenden, are close friends of Oliver’s parents. The drummer said: “As soon as he started coming to Keech I would hear about how wonderful it is so I thought it would be great to visit and hopefully put some smiles on faces.

“Visiting Keech was very emotional. The one thing that really struck me was the strength and sense of community amongst the families, nurses and volunteers in the face of such challenging circumstances.

“I can see why Oliver loves it so much. Keech is a really special place and I’m so glad we got to see a little bit of the vital work they do.”

Oliver was referred to Keech Hospice in Luton during his chemotherapy, which his mum Tiggy said has made a big difference to their family.

She said: “Oliver loves coming to Keech. This is a huge deal to me, that as his primary carer I can leave Oliver at Keech and know he is safe and happy. It was the first time I had left him since this horror began.

“Having Keech’s support meant that when my daughter Ella, four, started primary school I had the time and space to support her. Keech gave me one less thing to worry about.”

Keech are providing Oliver with a programme to help him with the transition from receiving full-time medical treatment for the past seven months back to a more normal daily life.

Tiggy added: “Keech is a really great place for him to start to spend time away from me because they can attend to any of his medical needs as well as provide him with a more ‘normal’ routine ready for him to start pre-school in September.

“Oliver’s prognosis is very good. Now we see the little boy he should be. We have the true Oliver back now.

“As a family we have gone through a unique and terrifying experience and our little boy has missed a year of his life but with Keech’s help we are adjusting back to our normal happy life.”