Nathaniel's story
Nathaniel was a brave, smiling boy, the kind of light that stays with everyone who met him. His favourite colour was yellow, warm and bright, just like him, and he was a brilliant Fortnite player who lit up at a good game. Born on 14 February 2012, he travelled from Nigeria to the United Kingdom to be fitted with a prosthetic eye after losing an eye to a tumour. It was here that doctors discovered he had advanced acute myeloid leukaemia.
What followed was an extraordinary outpouring of love. A whole community rallied around him, and with the generosity of thousands of strangers, the funds were raised for his care. His story drew support from well-known figures including Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Paul O’Grady and Katie Price, while Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield helped raise awareness. National newspapers carried his story too. He appeared on the front page of the Sunday People, where journalist Angela Wormack helped bring his story to readers, and the Daily Mirror followed his journey closely. Nathaniel went on to have a stem cell transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and through it all he faced his illness with a courage and a smile that earned him the name “the smiling warrior.”
Nathaniel passed away on 19 August 2022. But the wish his family carried, to take the love shown to him and pass it on to other families facing the same fight, lives on in this foundation. That is how we keep his light shining.