Latest news at Hill berry farm

July and August

New shrug available to purchase

This July has been the time for our Alpacas to have a hair cut. Mr Bob Shaw has been to shear our Alpacas, Bob has many years of experience shearing alpacas and sheep, He also has a collection called Sharrow Bay alpacas in Cumbria. Miss Diane Fisher of Todwick Sheffield will be spinning some of our alpaca fleece, Diane has lots of experience in the traditional method of hand spinning with a spinning wheel, also demonstrating the craft at many events.

Alpaca Shrug. This original design hand knitted by Julie Ferguson using hand spun silver grey alpaca wool form Marco,

If you would like to contact Grant you can on:INFO@BATTLEHILLBERRY.CO.UK

Grant Battle was born in Sheffield in 1973. At the age of 5yrs Grant was diagnosed with Leukemia
and treatment started at the Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Grant had three years of treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the early stages,
but unfortunately relapsed. After a year off treatment he had a very servere case of chicken pox
and pneumonia and was in isolation at the Thornbury annexe Hospital Sheffield. A number of years
passed when Grant relapsed again this time having Shingles, which paralyzed the left side of Grants
face, disfiguring his left ear and face, also causing 95% hearing loss to his right ear. Grant was
treated in Llodge Moor isolation hospital in Sheffield as well as the Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Further years passed with relative good health until Grant was 11 years old, when he was put forward
for a bone marrow transplant at the Sheffield children's hospital, this would give Grant the chance of a
new life.

It was Grants sister who was found to be a good match for the bone marrow transplant

Grant had 6 hours of full body radiation before the new bone marrow was transplanted, and spent
4 weeks in isolation undergoing the transplant. The result was a success and grant gained good health
and the following years passed until grant was diagnosed with cataracts at the age of 18 years.
One cataract was removed at the Hallamshire hospital in 1989 the other was left until a later date.

In 1996 grant was diagnosed with a brain tumor after a brain scan at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital.
The tumor was removed at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield but Grant endured many months
of rehabilitation to recover.

Grant still has to go every 2 years for an appointment to see his Surgeon.

In 2002 grant was diagnosed with two Basel cell carcinomas (skin cancer) on his forehead at the
Sheffield Hallamshire hospital. The operation was carried out at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and in
2006 had the second operation at the Sheffield Northern General Hospital by a plastic surgeon.

Grant had a skin graft, which failed to heal, due to blood vessels in Grants forehead having been
reduced by the radiation treatment that Grant had years before. This caused the slowing down of the
blood flow to the skin graft and it has take 5 months of dressing to the area for the wound to heal.

It is very possible that both brain tumor and skin cancer have been caused due to the high levels
of radiation that Grant was given when under for the treatment of Leukemia,

Grant has to cope to day with a number of medical problems; he has to keep taking many
different medications, which he will have to do for the rest of his life. But his determination to stride
forward as his life is centered around, first his animals and then his ceramics.