This weeks nomination was one that we instantly knew we wanted to help and due to a change of circumstance it became even more urgent and we had to get the help to this family as quickly as possible.
A wonderfully brave little human battling cancer and her and her family doing everything they can to find the best avenues to get her the most effective help possible. The treatment she now needs to give her the best chance of recovery is available in Barcelona and we sending our support to get it for her.
Our lovely member Tim’s nomination is below.
We wish this strong family so much love and support!
You are brilliant Bibi.
Hi Admins Thanks for the wonderful work you do to keep this group running and energised. I have a nomination that I feel is more than worthy for our fantastic group’s support. I was at school with Laura. I’ve been following the devastating story of her three-year-old daughter Bibi’s battle with cancer. It’s truly heartbreaking. I would love to be able to help Bibi and her family in their fight. Here is Bibi’s story... I hope we can help. Thank you Tim x Story Beatriz, or 'Bibi', is a gorgeous little cutie pie - just don't tell her that. She's also fierce as hell. Her favourite things are Paw Patrol, Peperami sausages, picking fluff out from in between her toes and winding up her big sister. She keeps her amazing nurses on their toes and terrifies the consultants. "She's weird, wonderful and amazing - she wants to be the tooth fairy when she grows up. And she is genuinely one of the funniest people we know," says her mum, Laura. At two and a half, Beatriz suddenly became very clingy and unhappy. Her parents thought it was just a phase. But she was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer that has a 40-50% chance of long-term survival. Her family are raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for further treatment, either to get their daughter into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if treatment does go to plan. Beatriz's story Beatriz had already become really clingy by the time she had stopped eating. "We thought she was just being picky", says Laura. "When she had a fever for four weeks, we were told it was a recurring virus. When she refused to walk because her legs hurt, then we got really scared." After weeks of trips to the doctors and A&E, they were called into a room at the Whittington Hospital and told the news that would turn their lives upside down. There was a lump and it was suspected neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer. "We went to Great Ormond Street Hospital the next day and started intensive chemotherapy within the week," continues Laura. A year full of treatment Since then Beatriz has been in hospital for nearly half of 2019, spending both her birthday and Christmas there. She's had hundreds of injections, countless general anaesthetics, endless chemotherapy drugs and lost all her amazing curly hair. She's due to start a new trial on the NHS at GOSH. But her future is uncertain. The trial is far from guaranteed to work and, even if Beatriz gets into remission, relapse rates are high and her parents will do everything they can to stop the cancer returning. This includes the possibility of a vaccine in New York. Beatriz's fundraising campaign Beatriz's family are raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for further treatment, either to get their daughter into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if treatment does go to plan. Hello Me again! Last week I nominated a brave little girl, Bibi, who is battling cancer. I know my nomination was already being considered but, there have been developments today in her situation, so I thought I would update you. This is her mum’s Facebook post: It's been a rollercoaster couple of weeks. From waiting anxiously for surgery, to feeling desperate for it to happen. The relief that it went well and that she had a quick recovery. And then the dread of waiting for the results. Unfortunately, the lesion they removed is neuroblastoma. We were expecting it would be, but really, really hoped it wouldn't be. And even though they removed the lesion, it means it's likely to be lurking elsewhere in her central nervous system. It makes things much more complicated, but there is an effective treatment for CNS disease. At the moment it isn't available in the UK but it is in Barcelona - and we've spoken to the Doctor there and, along with GOSH, they agree it is the best treatment for her. She needs to have three weeks of cranio radiotherapy here which will be pretty gruelling, then the next step will be to go to Barcelona to get the CNS treatment - hopefully in September. We don't have the full costs for the treatment yet, but it isn't going to be cheap. So we're going to be ramping up our fundraising - and we've got a really fun way for everyone to get involved which we will be sharing tomorrow! So stay tuned. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/beatriz I really appreciate your consideration. ThanksTim x