A simple act to bring some happiness to a terminally ill friend has taken flight.
Melton resident Jenny Howell-Clark launched the charity, The Orange Pigeon, in January 2012, and it has just granted its 36th wish to dying adults.
When Ms Howell-Clark tried to find a charity that catered for terminally ill patients, she found there was none. So she took matters into her own hands and arranged two AFL grand final tickets for her friend Nadine, who had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.
“Nadine had been going through chemo all that week so she was feeling ill, but it was brilliant,” Ms Howell-Clark said. “The next day she came over, and the difference in her … she was jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. She said to me, ‘I wasn’t even thinking about what I was going through … it didn’t even enter my mind’.”
After seeing Nadine’s reaction, Ms Howell-Clark took six months’ long service leave to set up The Orange Pigeon.
One of the most recent wishes granted by the charity was to 26-year-old Chris Burhop, who has been battling Burkitts lymphoma and has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
“He’s had lots of chemo, lots of radiation, but none of it worked,” his sister Nikki Elston said.
He is now receiving palliative care at home. Earlier this month, Mr Burhop drove a Ferrari and a Lambourghini, thanks to The Orange Pigeon. “It was really, really special for him,” Ms Elston said. “Having his wish be granted was more than just for him. It gave us [the family] something to look forward to.”
The Orange Pigeon will have a fund-raising dinner on June 28 at WestWaters Hotel and Entertainment Complex. Tickets are $49.
Go to bit.ly/TzL3Gk to book.
