Student remembered as Plumpton College announces charity fundraising day

The college’s annual Raising and Giving Day (RAG), set to take place on March 24, will raise money for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA UK) which funds medical research and provides support to sufferers of the condition which affected former student Josh Parker.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a rare, serious condition caused by the thickening and stiffening of the blood vessels supplying the lungs (pulmonary arteries).

Josh’s parents said in a statement: “When Josh was born the main arteries to his heart were plumbed the wrong way around and he underwent several lots of open-heart surgery in the first year of his life to correct this.

“Josh enjoyed a full and active life however, at age 13, he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension.

“He underwent more surgery and was fitted with a permanent IV line which administered medicine to his heart 24/7 via a small pump which he carried around his waist.

“Despite this, quite inspirationally, Josh continued as he always had, determined that his PH would not stop him doing anything. He went on holidays abroad, mountain biking in the Alps, travelled around Europe in a campervan, swam in the sea, went camping, kayaking, shooting and learned to drive, to name a few!

“From a very early age he was interested in tractors and anything mechanical and in 2015 he went to Plumpton College to study Agricultural Machinery.

“During his two years at Plumpton he made a lot of good friends and they spent many hours together green laning and repairing their various off-road vehicles.

“After college Josh worked for a local agricultural contractor and in his spare time continued restoring his Land Rover Series 3 which he had stripped down to the chassis, repaired and started to rebuild.”

Josh’s health tragically began to deteriorate, and in January 2019 he was put forward for an emergency heart/lung transplant. Unfortunately, after many months waiting for a donor, Josh was no longer considered suitable for a transplant.

He spent the last four months of his life with his family and friends, and passed away in October.

Josh’s parents said: “Although Josh’s life was cut short, he took everything that life threw at him on the chin and made the most of every day.”

In his memory Plumpton College is dedicating its RAG event solely to PHA UK, and will collapse the timetable for a day for staff and students to come together to host a variety of activities and challenges in the bid to raise money.

Held at the college, the event will feature a colour clash, the big hill run which is a race up the downs, a gin tasting night sponsored by Ditchling Gin, an Easter Egg raffle, and an inflatable obstacle course.

Iain Armstrong, chair of the PHA UK, said: “We are so grateful to Plumpton for choosing us as their charity to support during RAG day.

“One of the challenges of having PH is that so few people have heard of it so this is a brilliant way of raising awareness too.

“Thank you to everyone for their support in memory of Josh.”

For further information about PHA UK, visit www.phauk.org.