A SCHOOLBOY battling leukaemia can now join in with school classes from his hospital bed, thanks to technology provided by a charity.
Five-year-old Oscar Saxelby-Lee is currently recovering at Birmingham's Children Hospital after a bone marrow transplant and, thanks to robot-like equipment called AV1, he can use a computer tablet to watch lessons taking place at Pitmaston Primary School and interact.
This has been provided to the Worcester boy by the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, as a trial project.
Oscar’s mum, Olivia Saxelby, said: “Something magical has happened all thanks to Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust. Pitmaston Primary School has received their very own ‘Ozzybot.’ This means Oscar can engage in classroom activities, school life and continue bonding with his peers from his hospital bed.”
Jen Kelly, from the Grace Kelly trust, said: “It was an honour to go into Oscar’s school and work with them to make this possible. To see Oscar’s beaming face on seeing his classmates is absolutely amazing – we are absolutely delighted that Grace’s legacy is making this possible.
“Since we announced this on social media, we have been approached by two other families in Worcester. Their children also have cancer and are hugely isolated. They are hoping that we can help their children too.
"We know that there are a number of other children in a similar situation as there are up to 25 children diagnosed every year in Worcestershire alone.”
Oscar has been battling T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since December. Following his diagnosis, he was given just three months to find a stem cell donor.
Pitmaston Primary held a weekend of donor tests on March 2 and 3, and around 5,000 people attended to be swabbed and registered to find a tissue match for Oscar.
Three matches were found for Oscar, allowing him to have the bone marrow transplant in the hope of winning his battle to survive.
The Grace Kelly trust is now hoping to raise funds through the Tesco Centenary Bags scheme beginning on July 1, which allows people to vote for them to receive anything between £10,000 and £25,000 as a donation, to provide an extra two to five AV1 robots for local children.
It costs £900 to sponsor an AV1 machine for three months for a child. Email contact@gkcct.org for more details.
If you are able to donate, go to
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