Latest news with #Pudsey
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Mum runs Bradford 10k in memory of toddler who died from epilepsy
A mother whose daughter died from a rare epilepsy syndrome is running Bradford 10k in her memory, 10 years after her Murphy, from Pudsey, will be joined by nine of her friends and family to run the race on Sunday, after completing the Manchester Marathon in Edie died in October 2015 after a seizure caused by hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome."It's so, so rare," says Ms Murphy. "When the doctor first spoke to us about it, they said that usually, unfortunately, when they have this seizure, because it can't be controlled, the child will likely pass away."So it's one of those things you don't know your child has until they have this seizure. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any testing or any other way to detect it."I only know one other family whose child has hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome, and we found that after Edie died and the family reached out to me from Australia." Edie's illness became apparent in April 2015 when she began experiencing febrile convulsions."Edie had a fever then a febrile convulsion in the April, as she had croup, and she had a really high temperature. In the October, she was a bit poorly again with a bit of a cold."The family were moving from Edinburgh to Yorkshire that weekend, and were preparing for the long drive when Edie had another seizure. "My husband went up to check on her and I just knew from the way that he shouted my name that something was wrong."I just knew. I don't know why, because it could have been multiple things. But how he sounded was how I had shouted him when she had the seizure the first time."The only way doctors were able to stop Edie's seizure was by inducing a coma. After five days Ms Murphy and her husband, Tom, were told she had hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome."They were never able to bring her out of the seizure," says Ms Murphy. "They tried to reduce the sedation but her body was just too damaged." Weeks later, Ms Murphy began fundraising for Edinburgh Children's Hospital charity and 10 years later the family has raised more than £35,000 for charities including Millie Wright Children's Charity and Epilepsy Action."When we had her funeral, we were sat with all our friends and they started saying, 'I'll do something' and we kind of grew this list," she says."So 2016 became the year of running because we did all the 10ks, but I kept adding things like half marathons and then we did the Yorkshire Marathon."It gave us a way to parent her, even though she wasn't here."We just needed something to focus on other than the fact she died and I liked it in a way because it gave people something to talk to us about."Running was also a way for Ms Murphy to help process her grief - and get some time to herself, as she was also raising her two other daughters, Annie and Eilidh."We used to go out for a run and put music on and it was half an hour to get away from everything and sometimes I'd be crying because a song would come on and I'd be thinking it's Edie's favourite song. "But then the next song would come on and I'd remember her dancing around the kitchen or getting the words slightly wrong."Now, when anybody thinks about us running, they think of Edie. So it was a positive something for her."The family is now raising awareness about hemiplegia Hemiconvulsion syndrome, as it was something they knew nothing about before Edie's diagnosis."I very naively thought there's a few types of epilepsy. We've spent a lot of time raising awareness of the hospital and they deserve every bit of it because they were amazing, but now I'd quite like to focus more on why she passed away," she says. Ms Murphy first did Bradford 10k in 2019, and has run every race event is organised by the charity Epilepsy Action, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025. This year will also be special for Ms Murphy because she will be part of a group of 10 – all in specially printed T-shirts."These are all friends that I've made from Pudsey and so they've never met Edie," says Ms Murphy. "They've only known her through what we've shared."It means a lot to me that they want to get involved, but it's also a massive challenge for some of them because it's their first proper race and this is the whole reason they've started running." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Rachel Reeves comes under pressure from her own local Labour Party to abandon her disability benefits cuts
's local Labour party will demand that the Chancellor abandons her plans to cut disability benefits. The Leeds West and Pudsey Constituency Labour Party (CLP), which campaigned to return Ms Reeves to Parliament in the general election as its local MP, has agreed to write to her 'as soon as possible' to make clear it does not support the cuts. The local party branch passed a motion opposing the cuts when it met this week. The Government's plans, set out in a Green Paper earlier this year, would tighten the eligibility criteria for the main disability benefit in England, the personal independence payment (Pip). Restricting Pip would cut benefits for around 800,000 people, while the sickness-related element of universal credit also set to be cut. The package of measures are aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high since. The Government hopes the proposals can save £5 billion a year by the end of the decade. In its motion opposing the plans, the Leeds West and Pudsey CLP said disabled people 'are not responsible for the state of the national finances and should not be made to pay the price for Tory economic mismanagement'. The CLP also acknowledged welfare reform is important, but urged the Government to 'focus on reducing the taper' - the rate at which benefits fall off once someone has found work. The local Labour group resolved to write to both Chancellor Ms Reeves and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to 'articulate our proposed cuts to disability benefits - whether by reducing rates, implementing higher thresholds, poor quality assessments or increased conditionality - as soon as possible'. Opposition on Ms Reeves's patch comes as the Government appears at risk of a major rebellion from its backbenchers over the plans. Some 100 Labour MPs - more than a quarter of the party's parliamentary numbers - are reported to have signed a letter urging ministers to scale back welfare cuts under consideration, according to media reports. The private letter to Labour's chief whip is separate from a similar one last week, in which 42 MPs said the cuts were 'impossible to support'. Speaking during a recent Westminster Hall debate, Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he was willing to 'swim through vomit' to vote against the cuts. Others including Richard Burgon (Leeds East), Rachael Maskell (York Central), and Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) also confirmed they would vote against the plans when they spoke during the debate. Ellen Clifford, from Disabled People Against Cuts, said the campaign group supports the Leeds West and Pudsey CLP's move. She added: 'We hope that the Chancellor takes note of the contents. The scale of the proposed cuts is horrific and will destroy communities, break public services through additional pressures and could well negatively impact the economy. 'They are cruel, badly thought through and entirely performative. Voters will not forget or forgive politicians who back these cuts.' The Chancellor's team, approached for comment, pointed to her previous messages to Labour MPs on the welfare cut proposals. When asked last week what her message to concerned Labour backbenchers was, Ms Reeves said: 'I don't think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, think that the current welfare system created by the Conservative Party is working today. 'They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we're going to grow our economy.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Children at Sunderland nursery thrilled by surprise visit from Pudsey Bear
Children at a nursery in Sunderland were thrilled by a surprise visit from Pudsey Bear. Busy Bees at Sunderland Ryhope Village welcomed the nation's favourite bear on Friday, April 11, to help the children and nursery team celebrate their recent fundraising achievements. The nursery, as part of a charity partnership launched last year, has been helping BBC Children in Need in their mission to help every child in the UK thrive. The Sunderland Ryhope nursery contributed to this nationwide effort by participating in The Big Trike Ride, where children collectively triked, biked, or scooted 874 miles - the distance from Land's End to John O'Groats. The nursery raised more than £1,200 in the process. READ MORE: New Italian restaurant 'coming very soon' to high street as new front installed Recruitment process to find new Cleveland Police chief constable set to begin Centre director at Busy Bees Sunderland Ryhope Village, Katrina Miller, said: "We are so proud of our nursery team and families that supported us to raise over £1,200 – it was a true community effort. "Seeing the children's faces light up when Pudsey arrived was priceless. "It was such a rewarding way to mark this special moment." The children enjoyed a Teddy Bear's Picnic and participated in a variety of activities with Pudsey, including ring-themed activities and classic songs such as Ring o' Roses. Ms Miller added: "We know the funds raised will help so many children across the UK, and we can't thank everyone enough for their amazing support."
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Britain's Got Talent 'gets dog spinoff' as ITV calls for applicants
ITV wants dogs to apply for a 'Britain's Got Talent' spinoff. The broadcaster is looking to expand its talent show franchise with a special programme focused on talented pooches, following on from beloved acts like 2012 'BGT' winners Ashleigh and Pudsey. A source told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "Pooches are always a huge hit on these competitions, so it made sense to devote a show entirely to the unique abilities of our four-legged friends. "Forget 'Britain's Got Talent', it's more a case of 'Britain's Dog Talent' — and ITV will be hoping this proves to be just as popular.' Head judge Simon Cowell is a huge animal lover, and plenty of performing pets have won the hearts of viewers over the years. In 2019, 11-year-old Alex Lauenburger's acrobatic pooch troupe earned Ant and Dec's golden buzzer. Now, it's said ITV is advertising for contestants for the new show. According to the report, the ad asks: "is your furry friend a star? Do they have a show-stopping trick? Are they a bark above the rest?' The human applicants must be aged 18 or over to submit their pet, with people told to email part@ to apply. Meanwhile, Simon's fellow 'BGT' judge Bruno Tonioli previously joked the dogs competing on the main show are "treated better" than he is", as he urged viewers not to worry about the welfare of the animals taking part. He told the Daily star newspaper's Hot TV column: "They are protected all the time. The sound levels are brought down at different times so they're not made to feel stressed. "The dogs are so well looked after. There is a huge production. They are very well taken care of. "They are actually looked after better than me. They get better dressing rooms!"
