My page: http://www.bmycharity.com/OliviaDownieAppeal
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Raised so far
Gift Aid1
| Total Raised online: | £30,416.51 |
| Total Raised offline: | £3,000.00 |
| Name | Amount | Gift Aid |
| Karen Matthews | £15.00 | £3.75 |
| Anonymous | £25.00 | £6.25 |
| Anonymous | £25.00 | £6.25 |
| Production Serv... | £150.00 | £37.50 |
| michelle bolt | £1,289.00 | £322.25 |
| Caroline | £10.00 | £2.50 |
| Paula | £4.00 | £1.00 |
| Vicki McBain | £240.00 | £60.00 |
| Vicki McBain | £48.00 | £12.00 |
| Sulzer Wood Ltd | £190.00 | £47.50 |
Families Against Neuroblastoma ...
Hello and Welcome from FAN Olivia Downie
The Olivia Downie Appeal
Doctors started Olivia on chemotherapy straight away to shrink the main tumour on her left adrenal gland. The treatments had horrible side effects, such as losing her beautiful blonde hair, violent sickness, loss of appetite, made her tired, confused and angry and gave her gastrionomitus. After chemotherapy, they operated to remove the tumour, which was the size of a grapefruit. Olivia had more chemotherapy to try to rid the bone marrow disease, and then high dose chemo, the hardest of all chemotherapies. Olivia remained unconscious over her 5th birthday on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009. It was heartbreaking and soul destroying to watch our precious little girl go through all of this. Her dad and I just wanted to take her pain and suffering away, do anything to stop it, but there was nothing we could do, except be there for her. Olivia then had radiotherapy and was sent home for a short break.
Through months of research, we discovered Immunotherapy, a new trial drug available to stop Neuroblastoma in its tracks. The survival rate for Neuroblastoma stands at a terrifying 20%. Unfortunately, Olivia was not eligible for the UK trial. With the help of Olivia's consultant, our local MP and sheer persistence, we got the ok to take Olivia to Germany for Immunotherapy. The local community came together through different fundraising ideas and raised money to help send Olivia for 6 cycles of treatment. All seemed well, until scans performed at Olivia's 4th cycle discovered 2 new tumours. This was a huge setback for Olivia, and we are terrified ot this relapse to say the least. Now Germany have started Olivia on a new chemotherapy called RIST along with pills called inhibitors. This method will be used until the 2 tumours found in the top of her spine and behind her breastbone shrink along with the cancer which remains in her pelvis and shoulder bones. After this, Olivia will have operations to remove the beast of a disease left behind. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, Germany will then perform a treatment which involves myself or my husbands stem cells being removed, so they can be given to Olivia in the hope of building a healthier, more efficient immune system so the body will be better at rejecting cancer.
All this treatment comes with substantial costs, which is a huge burden on us. Thankfully, we have secured some funding from a charity to pay for the RIST drugs. This has bought us some time, however, we still need to keep fundraising for everything else Olivia needs now, and what she might need in the future. We have learned the hard way that this disease can and does throw a spanner in the works and we know all too well how having access to money is essential to pay for whatever she needs.
Please help us to make this life line available to us. Ask yourself, what would you do? WE CANNOT give up on our daughter! PLEASE help us to save our daughters life. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
Donating here is easy or you could donate direct to theNatwest bank. Account Number: 88694275 Sort Code: 55-81-28.
For further details on ways to donate please visit www.familiesagainstneuroblastoma.org
Group(s):
Team Olivia
About Families Against Neuroblastoma (FAN)
FAN needs your support in many ways. Donations made to FAN will primarily be used to directly support our families. It will help provide the children with days out, wish experiences, and other things that are all intended to boost moral and put a smile on everyone's face. We firmly believe this can help make a positive impact on the success of the child's treatment. Unfortunately, not all our children will survive, and therefor it is vitally important that we can help pack as much fun into their short lives as we possible can, and leave the family with precious memories to cherish after they have gone.
A donation to a child's individual appeal will be held for the sole use of that child for treatment or for quality of life. These appeals often have a very high target due to the enormity of the medical expenses, and are therefor dependant on the generosity of donations from the general public. This really can mean the difference between life and death. Should the child no longer need the money raised in their name, funds will either become available to other children within the charity, moved to our emergency fund, donated to Neuroblastoma research, donated to our general fund, or a combination of all four, as agreed with the family.
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