Kirsty Howard
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kirsty Ellen Howard (20 September 1995 – 24 October 2015) was an English
children's hospice A children's hospice is a hospice specifically designed to help children and young people who are not expected to reach adulthood with the emotional and physical challenges they face, and also to provide respite care for their families. Services ...
advocate known for her fundraising efforts for Francis House Children's Hospice in Didsbury, Manchester. As a patient of the hospice, Howard was the figurehead of the Kirsty's Club (formerly known as the Kirsty's Appeal), a charity dedicated for fundraising for the facility, which was severely underfunded at the time. Her efforts gained national support and attention. At the time of her death, she had raised over £7.5 million for the hospice.


Birth and illness

Kirsty Howard was born on 20 September 1995 at the
Wythenshawe Hospital Wythenshawe Hospital (previously University Hospital of South Manchester) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, England. It provides general medical services to the local and regional area as well as being a national ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, to Lynn and Steve Howard of
Northern Moor Northern Moor is an area of Manchester, England, west of Northenden and east of Sale, 5 miles south of Manchester city centre. The Tatton family lived from 1540 to 1926 at Wythenshawe Hall, which is in Northern Moor; land around it is now Wyth ...
, the youngest of three sisters. Shortly after her birth, Howard was discovered to have a serious
congenital heart defect A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular ...
: her
heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
was back to front, causing the misplacement of her
internal organ In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
s. The condition, a form of
situs ambiguus Situs ambiguus is a rare congenital defect in which the major visceral Organ (anatomy), organs are distributed abnormally within the chest and abdomen. Clinically heterotaxy spectrum generally refers to any defect of Left-right asymmetry and arrang ...
, is exceptionally rare and has an occurrence of one in 60 million; only one case was reported previously. After surviving 11 operations, including 9 heart surgeries, Howard was considered too fragile to receive anaesthesia and the only option was palliative care. She needed around-the-clock care, including continuous oxygen therapy through a
nasal cannula The nasal cannula (NC) is a device used to deliver supplemental oxygen or increased airflow to a patient or person in need of respiratory help. This device consists of a lightweight tube which on one end splits into two prongs which are placed ...
connected to a cylinder. In February 1999, she was declared to have only six weeks to live and admitted to Francis House Children's Hospice.


Children's hospice advocacy

Opened in November 1991 by
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, Francis House Children's Hospice is the fifth children's hospice in the UK and one of the oldest around the world. Like most children's hospices in the country, the charity receives little public funding and relies on donations extensively. By the time Howard was admitted in 1999, it was in severe financial difficulties and required at least £5 million (equivalent to £7.73 million in 2021) to continue its operation. Piccadilly Radio presenter
Susie Mathis Susie Mathis (born Susan Mathis; 29 April 1947) is a former singer, actress and radio presenter who, in later years, became a fundraiser for Francis House Children's Hospice, and many other charities in North West England. Music and television ...
, who had been paying attention to the facility since its start, decided to take the challenge of designing a fundraising campaign with her team. Their first ad, which was designed by advertisement agencies, failed to receive attention despite appearing in several newspapers. Mathis realised that a real-life figure was needed to gain sympathy from the public and Howard became a perfect choice. On 6 October 2001, Howard was the
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
qualifying
match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Commentator
John Motson John Walker Motson (10 July 1945 – 23 February 2023) was an English football commentator. Beginning as a television commentator with the BBC in 1971, he commentated on over 2000 games on television and radio. From the late 1970s to 2008, Mo ...
called her "the bravest person on the pitch", as she accompanied captain
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
onto the pitch with her 20 kg oxygen tank. In 2002, Howard, along with Beckham, presented the Jubilee Baton to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
during the opening ceremony of the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...
in Manchester. Russell Watson released the single " Nothing Sacred - A Song for Kirsty" in December to help her fundraising and it reached a peak of number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2003, Howard started the inaugural Junior and Mini Great Manchester Run, and took part in the race herself, via
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
, wearing the Number 1 vest. She continued to do this throughout the history of the event, even after she became 16 years old when she was too old to officially take part in the event. She also joined the full 10 km race in her last years, pushed by her team. In 2006,
Richard Fleeshman Richard Jonathan Fleeshman (born 8 June 1989) is an English actor and singer. His television career began as a 12-year-old, playing Craig Harris for four years in ''Coronation Street'' before going on to become an established television, West E ...
sang for Howard on ''
Soapstar Superstar ''Soapstar Superstar'' is a British talent show that aired on ITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that of '' Pop Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', in that the competition features a group of ...
'' and donated his £200,000 prize money to The Kirsty Appeal. Howard's new fundraising target was to raise a further £2,000,000 to build an extension to the Francis House hospice. This will not be named after her, but dedicated to her.


Awards and honours

Howard was awarded the Helen Rollason Award by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2004, for her courage and determination in her fundraising efforts. She also received the
Child of Courage Award A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
(2001) and the Pride of Britain Award (2002). For her efforts in fundraising,
Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...
gave Howard their Young Citizen of the Year award in 2007. In recognition of her contributions to her community, Howard was awarded the
Diana Award The Diana Award honours young people who work to improve the lives of others. Named after Diana, Princess of Wales, the award was established in 1999 by a board chaired by Gordon Brown. The award was launched by former UK Prime Minister Gordon ...
; the certificate given to her by tenor
Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...
at the secondary school she attended. In September 2014 Howard received an "Outstanding Achievement Award" from the children's charity
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
. In December 2014 Howard was named 'Ultimate Woman of Courage' by
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
magazine.


Death

Howard died on 24 October 2015 at the Manchester Royal Infirmary with her family at her bedside after suffering first a kidney infection and then a heart attack. Her funeral was held on 3 November at St Michael and All Angels Church, Northern Moor. Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral, including a number of celebrities. She is buried at Southern Cemetery, Manchester.


Legacy

A
JustGiving JustGiving is a global online social platform for giving. The firm's headquarters are located in Bankside, London. History In 2000, Zarine Kharas and Anne-Marie Huby founded JustGiving, (initially clickforaction.com) a company to provide on ...
page has been set up through the Kirsty Club at https://www.justgiving.com/kirstyclub/. The number one plate of Junior and Mini Great Manchester Run, which she always wore in the race, was retired in her honour.


Further reading

* Mathis, Susan (2006). ''Kirsty, Angel of Courage: The Little Girl Who Touches Our Hearts''. Medavia Publishing.


References


External links


The Kirsty Club

BBC.co.uk article on Helen Rollason Award

Francis House Children's Hospice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Kirsty 1995 births 2015 deaths People from Wythenshawe British charity and campaign group workers 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Philanthropists from Greater Manchester