WHEN seriously ill Oliver Dees went to Florida to swim with dolphins his father said it was like getting his son back.

Oliver was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of four and spent the next five years enduring surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

He was able to go on a trip to Florida to fulfil his dream of swimming with dolphins and was also passionate about gardening and being outside with his father, Peter.

Oliver lost his battle with the disease in December, but his father has launched a project to build a community garden in his memory for his friends who went to Mapperley Plains Primary School with him.

He will also be doing a trek to one of the highest mountains in South East Asia to raise money for When You Wish Upon A Star, the charity that enabled his son to have his wish come true and swim with dolphins.

"When Oliver finished his first lot of treatment he would walk around with his head down a lot," said Mr Dees, of Mapperley.

"When a child suffers something like this, there has to be a blow to their confidence.

"When You Wish Upon A Star gave us Oliver back really. He stopped being a patient for two weeks and it was lovely.

"The whole family were able to go and Oliver had an amazing time – he even remembered the name of one of the dolphins.

"He had his wish come true. He had a fantastic time. It was the fact that Oliver came back with memories that stayed with him to the end.

"When I was offered the chance to do the Vietnam trek to raise money for the charity I thought it was the right thing to do. It's a legacy for Oliver."

Oliver was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of brain tumour that affects children, around five years ago.

He had radiotherapy and chemotherapy and was given the all-clear, but after two years had a relapse.

Further tumours developed and he died on December 17 last year.

Mr Dees will travel with other volunteers to climb to the summit of Mount Fansipan in north Vietnam in October to raise money for the charity.

He said he wants to raise funds as well as awareness of the number of children being treated for brain tumours.

Mr Dees has also decided to build a community garden in Oliver's memory and is currently working with designers so the youngster's friends and family, including Oliver's older brother Ryan, 11, can remember him.

He added: "It all started with a conversation with the school who wanted to put a memorial bench up for Oliver. But we realised that the children who had grown up with Oliver and were in his class would be going to other schools in September."

Instead Mr Dees decided to put the garden on a site at the corner of Mapperley Plains and Central Avenue, just a few minutes' walk from Oliver's home and school.

Mr Dees added: "I would like it if the garden could be used by the school to do lessons and reading sessions.

"Oliver loved gardening. He used to love pottering around with me and he had a little basket with all his utensils in.

"Everywhere I went Oliver was always very happy to go with me."

To support the Vietnam trek visit www.justgiving.com/vietnamtrek2011