Marathon Journey for Ben
On the 23rd of March, Foresters’ own young euphonium star Ben Smith hosted an evening of brass band music featuring players from The Virtuosi GUS Band, Foresters Brass and Harborough Band, as well as members of the European Youth competitors Youth Brass 2000 and the Northamptonshire County Youth Brass Band. This was not a concert to be missed, and it was in aid of Children with Cancer. At the age of 7, Ben was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukaemia and was treated with the highest levels of chemotherapy for over three years. This harsh treatment left him suffering with rare side effects including a bone crumbling disease, liver disease and reduced lung function. Despite these awful side effects and a high chance of relapse, Ben, with the help of his doctors and nurses and family support from the charity Children with Leukaemia (now Children with Cancer) made a full recovery and has been cancer free for over eight years. He is now a scholarship student at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire studying euphonium and it is fair to say that he has his puff back!
The 28th of April then came round very quickly, it was London Marathon 2019 day! After a bright and early start, Ben was soon through the start gate and running his first marathon. Speaking about the event, Ben said it was the best experience of his life. After finishing in a very respectable 5 hours 16 minutes.
So far, he's raised an extremely impressive £5759 for Children with Cancer UK, and his donation page is still open if you'd like to contribute to his amazing challenge and cause.
