THE family and friends of a brave Northside teen who died from cancer in 2010 have surpassed all their expectations by raising
?¬200,000 to buy equipment for the oncology ward at Beaumont Hospital.
Ross Nugent, from Malahide, was just 18-years-of-age when he lost his battle with the bone disease Ewing’s Sarcoma two years ago.
Since his tragic death, his family and friends have more than fulfilled his promise to raise enough money to purchase a blood pressure monitor for St Clare’s Ward.
In fact they’ve bought 75 pieces of equipment for the ward through donations from the Ross Nugent Foundation.
“The idea came about one day when the cuff on the blood pressure machine kept slipping off Ross’s arm,
? his dad Don Nugent told Northside People.
“He was such a positive 18-year-old and was absolutely determined to raise money to buy a new monitor for the ward when he got better.
“We have just been fulfilling that promise on his behalf ever since his death.
“A few months after he died we started to think of how we’d raise e1,500 for the blood pressure monitor and here we are over two years down the line having raised almost e200,000 thanks to the generosity and support of so many people.
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The Ross Nugent Foundation comprises a voluntary board of nine members including Don, his wife Sandra and their daughter Emma along with relatives and family friends.
The work of the foundation is a labour of love for all involved as Don, who works as centre director of Dundrum Shopping Centre, explained.
“This is another life for us, one that we could obviously never have envisaged when Ross was alive and in full health,
? he said.
“We spend a lot of time running the foundation and raising money but it is very rewarding and almost therapeutic to see and know the difference the money is making to patients.
“Of course we feel the foundation keeps Ross’s presence alive but we feel like he is prompting and inspiring us to keep going.
“He was a very quiet, charismatic young man who was always looking at what he could do to help others.
“Our mantra is: what would Ross do? That’s what we keep in mind always.
“It’s difficult as a father to talk about your son in the past tense but we try to look to the future.
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Every cent raised by the charity goes directly towards new equipment for the oncology unit.
All items bought, from the 10 bionic chairs used by day patients undergoing treatment to easily accessible bedside lamps, have the fundamental objective of making the lives of cancer patients, their families and staff more comfortable.
“We’ve also been able to make sure that all of the 14 rooms in St Clare’s Ward have chair-beds for relatives to sleep on,
? Don explained.
“One of us would always stay with Ross when he was in hospital and we’d sleep on the ground because there was nowhere else to sleep.
“When you’re a parent you’d sleep anywhere just to be with your child but it broke Ross’s heart to see us there and he worried about us. Now that each room has a chair-bed, no other patient will have that worry.
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Don, Sandra and the other board members were adamant they wanted personalised involvement in the purchase of equipment.
“We didn’t want to simply send in a cheque.
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“We had a very clear set of objectives of what we wanted the money to go towards,
? Don explained.
“We have a system now where the hospital gives us a list of what’s needed. We confirm the available funding, the hospital places the order and then we pay the supplier directly.
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Don and his family have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support they’ve had from the public and say they will continue to fundraise for the foundation for as long as people want to donate.
For more information or to donate, visit www.rossnugentfoundation.ie