Look To The Stars News: Sophie's Gift

Stars To Attend Coma Patient's Gala

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:30:00 +0000

A gala to raise funds for charity in the name of a 17-year-old British coma patient will take place this Saturday.

Sophie Wilkinson has been in a coma since she was involved in a car accident last October, and her plight has attracted a wide range of celebrities to step forth and help raise the funds needed to provide her with care. Earlier this year her parents set up the Sophie’s Gift Fundraising Program on behalf of the Southampton Hospital Trust to raise the £250,000 (US$500,000) needed to provide Sophie with a Mobile CT Scanner. As well as receiving a video and words of encouragement from Johnny Depp, Sophie has also got support from the likes of Sharon Osbourne, Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, and Chris Tarrant.

Sophie’s parents, Andrew and Alison Wilkinson, have also established a database of celebrity voices to help wake up other coma patients. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Amanda Holden are just some of the names who have already committed to the initiative.

Johnny Depp Gives Wake Up Call To Coma Sufferer

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:33:00 +0000

A 17-year-old British girl is showing the first signs of waking up from a coma, and her parents are now enlisting celebrities to help with a new charity to help others with the same problem.

Sophie Wilkinson has been in a coma since a horror car crash in November last year, and over the past few days she has started to become aware of what is going on around her, focusing on people, responding to voice commands and making vocalisations. Her parents, Andrew and Alison Wilkinson, are thrilled but say now is the crucial time to get their daughter listening to as many different voice recordings as possible to make sure she continues to improve, and have enlisted the help of several high profile celebrities to help them. And the response from famous voices has been so strong that the couple now want to start up a service for other coma sufferers.

Johnny Depp, Sharon Osbourne, and Top Gear’s Richard Hammond have all pledged their support for the initiative, and Depp also recorded a tape of physical commands for Sophie in the voice of his Pirates of the Caribbean character, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Depp and Halliwell Help Teenage Coma Patients

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:07:19 +0000

Hollywood hero Johnny Depp and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell have brought hope and joy to the families of two teenage girls in comas.

Earlier this month, Halliwell visited Jessica Knight, a 14-year-old girl who was attacked and left for dead while walking in a park near her home. Jessica suffered a stroke while fighting for her life on the surgeon’s table, and had been in a coma for six days when Halliwell paid the family a surprise visit.

“Geri sang a couple of lines of one of their songs and Jessica started moving her arms and legs,” said Jessica’s mother, Jill Walmsley.