Norwich brain tumour 13-year-old swims for charity

A Norwich youngster who bravely fought a brain tumour has completed a sponsored swim to raise money for the charity which helped him and his family.

Tommy Simpson, 13, swam 5km by doing 200 lengths of the 25m pool at the UEA Sportspark on Saturday.

The sponsored swim was in aid of the Sick Children's Trust which allowed his parents to be with him every day at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and sleep next door in Acorn House, which is one of the homes funded by the trust.

The teenager, from Robin Hood Way, Tuckswood, said: 'It went very well and I completed it in two hours 15 minutes. I imagined it would be more nerve-wracking than it was, but everybody was very supportive.'

Tommy set a target to raise �500 for the trust from the swim, but he managed to collect, with pledges, about �700 and the UEA swimming pool has agreed to match that total, so the overall amount raised could be about �1,400.

The next fundraising event for the trust he has planned is a cake stall at his school, City of Norwich, early next month.

As reported in the Evening News in December, Tommy was suffering frequent headaches and had tests and scans at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

He was diagnosed with a benign (non-cancerous) brain tumour, and was taken to Addenbrooke's where he had a life-saving 11-hour operation in January 2009 and then spent six weeks in hospital.

He still needs to go back to Addenbrooke's every six months for check-ups and has been left partially sighted.

For more information about the charity visit http:www.sickchildrenstrust.orgindex.php.

Are you planning a charity event in Norwich? Call reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk