A Travel Counsellors agent who spoke about her son’s health needs at the business’s annual conference has been left stunned after colleagues raised thousands within 48 hours to pay for Kian’s medical treatment.
Kelly Durrington brought delegates to tears as she described 14-year-old Kian, who is not expected to reach adulthood.
Agents were so moved by her story that they contributed more than £10,000 to an online fundraising page set up by her friend the day after her on-stage appearance.
Durrington said: “‘Thank you’ does not seem enough for what they’ve given us because what they’ve given us is the gift of life. Because of their donations, our son is going to be able to live longer and there’s no way to express our gratitude for that.”
Born prematurely, Kian was resuscitated three times in his first 10 days and was found to have two holes in his heart.
He has multiple health needs that are life-limiting and life-threatening, but three rounds of treatment in the US have so far extended his life by seven years.
The latest raft of donations will cover the cost of further treatment in California.
“It would have taken us a year to get anywhere near £10,000 through our own fundraising,” said Durrington.
Asked for her reaction to the sum raised within two days of the donations web page going live, she said: “We’re speechless. It’s beyond anything we could have imagined. It means so much to us.”
She added: “The whole reason for doing the speech at the conference was to support Reuben’s Retreat.
“We had no intention for anything to come out of it for us as a family. The fact that the Travel Counsellors community rallied round and did something for us… I’m proud to be part of such an amazing community of people.”
The fundraising page was set up by Durrington’s friend Laura Boulton, an agent based in Crewe. The pair first met on a trip to London for Travel Counsellors’ top sellers of Disney Cruise Line.
More than 500 people have contributed donations, with the majority of them being Travel Counsellors agents or head office staff. By Friday evening, the sum raised stood at £12,380.
- To donate to Kian’s fund, visit: gofundme.com/f/kians-treatment