Open day raises over £500 for Dillon

FROME Veterinary Centre has presented local boy, Dillon Chapman, with a cheque for £559 following an open day at the clinic.

New practice owners, Highcroft Veterinary Group and over 200 local pet owners visited Frome Veterinary Centre to help celebrate the completed refurbishments.

Julia Metcalfe, receptionist at the clinic and Dillon Chapman’s aunt,  presented the cheque for £559, a combination of the sponsorship money she raised doing a 15,000ft skydive and proceeds from the open day.

Dillon suffers from neurofibromatosis, a debilitating condition where tumours develop on his nerves. Having endured a great amount of pain for many years, Dillon became the subject of a BBC documentary covering the decision to have his severely affected leg amputated. Dillon was very thankful to everyone for raising the money. He said, “It was an honour to attend the open day and I was overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness.

“Life is getting better, I’m using my prosthetic leg a little bit more and it’s great. I’m also swimming three times a week and having lots of physiotherapy.”

Frome Mayor, cllr Kate Bielby, joined in the festivities by officially opening the practice alongside veterinary surgeons and owners of Highcroft, Richard Killen and Robert Dawson.

Richard said, “We are so pleased to be able to support such a brave young man like Dillon. He is an inspiration to us all. We were thrilled to see so many of the local community at the open day and to have cllr Kate Bielby officially open the practice. It was a lot of fun for everyone involved.”

There were many activities going on throughout the day, including stitching up Snoopy, practising bandaging skills, keyhole surgery on vegetables and a ‘behind the scenes’ look at  how a busy vet practice works.

Frome Veterinary Centre thanked the local businesses that donated prizes to the charity raffle and the visitors for their generosity. More information and pictures taken on the day can been seen on their Facebook page.