Portchester family determined to raise money to complete eight-year-old son's bucketlist and find cure for terminal illness

‘MY eight-year-old son telling me what is on his bucket list is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with as a parent.’
Catch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour
Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. 
Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and  they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Sophie Regan (8yrs), Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger.
Picture: Duncan ShepherdCatch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour
Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. 
Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and  they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Sophie Regan (8yrs), Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger.
Picture: Duncan Shepherd
Catch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Sophie Regan (8yrs), Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger. Picture: Duncan Shepherd

Those are the words of Cairan St Ledger whose son Harry has an inoperable brain tumour.

The 33-year-old from Portchester said: ‘There are so many difficult things in life but that is truly the worst thing we have to deal with and I would wish that no other parent has to deal with the fact that their child will pass away before them.’

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A holiday to Disney World, a visit to Santa in Lapland, meeting chef Matilda Ramsay  and trips to every theme park in the country are just some of the things Pompey fan Harry wants to do.

Catch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour
Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. 
Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and  they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger.
Picture: Duncan ShepherdCatch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour
Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. 
Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and  they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger.
Picture: Duncan Shepherd
Catch Line: Fundraising day for youngster with inoperable tumour Location: Red Lion Pub in Portchester. Story: Harry St Ledger, from Portchester has an inoperable brain tumour. His family have put on a fundraising day so he can tick things off his bucket list and they are splitting the profits with charity Abbies Army who fund research into DIPG - (L-R) Chris Young, Kerry-Ann Regan, Fiona Lear, Harry St Ledger, Claire Wallace (landlady of the Red Lion), Emonie St Ledger (9yrs), Cairan St Ledger. Picture: Duncan Shepherd

Mum Fiona Lear said: ‘Harry has been so strong throughout all of this and we just take each day as it comes. My child writing a bucket list is awful but I won’t let my grief drown me and we want him to  enjoy life.’

Harry has been battling his brain tumour after he was diagnosed last February before undergoing six weeks of radiotherapy and a 12-month course of chemotherapy. But NHS treatment has now stopped.

Cairan said: ‘The prognosis for children with DIPG which is brain tumour on the stem is nine to 12 months and Harry has already got to 17 months and he is doing well.

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‘But now as the tumour is not progressing there is no more NHS treatment and we are worried he will start to get more ill .’

The pair decided to put on a fun day at The Red Lion in Portchester to raise cash for Harry’s bucket list and for charity Abbie’s Army which fundraises for research to find a cure for DIPG.

Cairan said: ‘We are so thankful to everyone who has been a part of Harry’s journey and hopefully we can give him some lovely memories.

‘But it is also important for us to fundraise for a cure because we don’t want other parents to have to go through what we are going through. Some of the parents of kids Harry did treatment with have already had to bury their children so we are very lucky that we are here today.’

Fiona, 48,  added: ‘We didn’t know if Harry would be with us fundraising but we are determined to raise cash to find a cure for other families.’