Man suffering from locked in syndrome makes 60 warm hats to send to Ukraine - and now he needs our help

So moved by the plight of the Ukrainians having their homes shelled by the Russian military, Luke Haigh felt he had to do something in spite of all his own struggles.
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Liversedge resident Luke has now managed to make dozens of warm hats for the people in Ukraine, all the while only having limited use of his arms.

Luke was diagnosed with leukaemia the week before his 16th birthday, which was followed by a year of treatment. But his situation worsened and he fell into a coma for four months.

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Luke Haigh has been making hats to send to Ukraine.Luke Haigh has been making hats to send to Ukraine.
Luke Haigh has been making hats to send to Ukraine.
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"I could only blink at first," said Luke, now 34. "It was just strange. Your brain says one thing, but your body couldn't do what your brain wants."

After years of treatment and physiotherapy, Luke is now able to speak and use his arms but still requires 24/7 care.

It was recently, when he learned of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that Luke felt he had to do something - one of the skills he learned during his treatment was hat making, so he decided to use his new skill to help those who needed it most.

"I am up to about 60 hats," he said. "I do about one a day because I do get tired.

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"I first started making them, then I saw the war in Ukraine was happening, so I thought the people there would appreciate them.

"There are different coloured ones for men and ladies, and some smaller ones for kids.

"I feel my story needs to be heard so people feel like maybe they should do their bit for the people of Ukraine."

So will Luke continue with his hat-making?

"Maybe one every two days from now on," he said. "Buying wool all the time works out as expensive!"

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Luke has yet to find someone to help him get the hats out to Ukraine, and says he needs help getting them over there.

If you are an individual or organisation willing to help Luke deliver the hats, email [email protected].

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