Charlie's shark swim dream

A brave boy diagnosed with a brain tumour is set to see his dreams come true as he gets ready to swim with sharks.
BLACKPOOL  01-04-16
Brave boy Charlie Jordan, ten, from Thornton-Cleveleys is preparing to swim with sharks at Blackpool Sea Life Centre, as he recovers from treatment for his brain tumour he was diagnosed with in January.BLACKPOOL  01-04-16
Brave boy Charlie Jordan, ten, from Thornton-Cleveleys is preparing to swim with sharks at Blackpool Sea Life Centre, as he recovers from treatment for his brain tumour he was diagnosed with in January.
BLACKPOOL 01-04-16 Brave boy Charlie Jordan, ten, from Thornton-Cleveleys is preparing to swim with sharks at Blackpool Sea Life Centre, as he recovers from treatment for his brain tumour he was diagnosed with in January.

Charlie Jordan, 10, was diagnosed with a serious brain tumour in January after falling mysteriously ill in his Thornton home.

Mum Emma, 35, said: “For about two or three weeks after Christmas he complained about being dizzy and then he started complaining about double vision, and he kept falling down. He was walking like he was drunk.

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“We went to the Blackpool Victoria Hospital for a CAT scan and they saw this mass on his brain stem.”

Charlie, who lives on Orchard Close, was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where he was diagnosed with a brain tumour on January 26.

Support worker Emma, who now works as Charlie’s full-time carer, said: “I was devastated. I blamed myself as a parent. I wondered whether I could have done something earlier and whether it would have made a difference.”

Fighter Charlie underwent five weeks of gruelling radiotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral in the hope of curing the tumour.

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Now he is looking forward to taking the plunge at Sea Life Blackpool this month as a special reward for his bravery.

Emma said: “He has been really brave – braver than people five times his age would have been. He has never complained.

“We wanted to make some memories for him and I asked him what he would like to do. Most of the things, like ‘meet CBBC stars Sam and Mark’, were normal – but then all of a sudden he said he would like to go swimming with sharks. It came as a complete surprise to me.

“The Sea Life Centre has been fantastic. They said they would do it all for free and organise a private swim session for him.

“I think he’s excited, but nervous as well. I think he’s realising what he’s asked for!”

A spokeswoman for Sea Life Blackpool said: “We are all very proud to be able to accommodate one of his dreams.”

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