'We'll never forget little George'
28.02.11
THE parents of a six-month-old baby who died from meningitis have raised hundreds of pounds for Meningitis UK in his memory.
Tina Rourke and John Wintle were left heartbroken when their son George Wintle died in October, just hours after falling ill.
Family and friends have helped the couple cope with their loss over the past few months – and last night they came together again for a fund-raising event at Silverdale Working Men's Club.
The event, which included a raffle and a performance by Welsh entertainer Bobby Gold, raised more than £1,000 to be split between the Donna Louise Children's Hospice and Meningitis UK.
Tina said the family was keen to raise as much money as they could for the two charities.
The 30-year-old, of Daly Crescent, Silverdale, said: "George died on a Friday night, just hours after he had fallen ill.
"It all happened so quickly we were just in shock. But the Donna Louise Trust offered to take him over to their hospice, where we were allowed to stay with him over the weekend so we could say our goodbyes.
"The staff there were just absolutely unbelievable. I'm getting counselling from them now, so the help is still ongoing.
"We wanted to collect money for Meningitis UK as well and just raise awareness of the disease, so other families don't have to go through the same thing."
On the morning of the day he died, George had seemed fine and was happily playing with his 21-month-old brother Jack, who suffers from cystic fibrosis.
But less than 10 hours after Tina first noticed he had a temperature, George had died of meningococcal septicaemia.
Tina said: "It's been terrible since George died. You just never expect something like that to happen. We've been told we'll never get over it, but we can learn to cope."
A number of items were donated to the family for their fund-raising raffle.
These included signed Liverpool and Port Vale shirts and signed memorabilia from pool champion Gareth Potts.
John, aged 30, said: "The support we had from everybody was brilliant. It was great to see so many people turn up.
"We've have bad days and good days since we lost George, but doing things like that have helped us cope."
George's grandad, David Wintle, of High Street, Silverdale, said: "He should still be here with us. It breaks my heart whenever I go to visit his grave.
"It's been really hard for all of us, but organising this event has helped."
Family friend Jasmine Preece, of Silverdale, helped organise a fund-raising non-uniform day at Sir Thomas Boughey High School in Halmer End.
The 16-year-old said: "We raised £750 with our Jeans for George Day. It was great to see everyone supporting the family."
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
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