For Etta

Morning all! Poor Etta is just 8 years old and is facing a long period of isolation following some serious and lifesaving treatment. Our lovely member Charlotte has reached out to us to see if we are able to fill up her world and provide stimulation, connection, friendship, normalcy and fun whilst she convalesces. We wish Etta all the love in the world as her friends and family rally around her at this incredibly difficult time. 

Hi Joe, 

Can you and the admin team consider this family please? 

I am friends with Etta’s uncle and thought this may be a family great for 500 reasons and OCH will try to support also if we can. 

Hi Charlotte, how are you? I hope all is well and you’re having a wonderful weekend. Sorry it’s taken so long, however please see below the info as discussed regarding Etta - let me know if you need anything else. 

We are writing to ask whether your charity might consider making a donation towards helping our eight-year-old daughter, Etta McColl, as she begins the long road to recovery following a bone marrow transplant.

Etta is an incredibly caring and kind little girl, with a wonderful sense of humour that has helped bring laughter to our family through some very difficult times. Before becoming ill, she loved dancing and swimming and, like any eight-year-old, enjoyed spending time with her friends, being at school and simply being a child.

In March this year, our world was turned upside down when Etta was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anaemia, a rare and serious condition in which her bone marrow stopped producing the blood cells her body needs. After several months of blood transfusions, her medical team decided that a stem cell/bone marrow transplant offered Etta her best chance of survival.

After an anxious four-week wait, we were incredibly fortunate that a suitable donor match was found. Etta has spent July and August as an inpatient at Bristol Children’s Hospital, undergoing chemotherapy and then receiving her new stem cells, with Mum and Dad by her side throughout.

It is still very early days, but after 5 weeks in hospital there are encouraging signs that Etta’s new bone marrow is beginning to work. We are cautiously hopeful that, all being well, she may be able to come home in the next couple of weeks.

The last five months have affected every part of our family’s life. Our whole focus has understandably been on keeping Etta safe and getting her through treatment, and this has also been incredibly difficult for her two older brothers, Maxi, 17, and Sampson, 16. Their lives, routines and family life have changed almost overnight.

Now we are looking ahead to the next stage of Etta’s journey. Although coming home will feel like a huge milestone, it will only be the beginning of a long recovery. In the best-case scenario, Etta’s recovery is expected to take around 6 to 13 months, with the first six months involving strict isolation at home and regular hospital appointments. This means she will be unable to return to school or have normal face-to-face contact with her friends for a significant period of time.

We want to make home a positive, comfortable and happy place for Etta while she goes through this next chapter. One of the things we would love to do is decorate her bedroom and create a special space that feels like hers — somewhere she can relax, recover and escape from the reality of hospital life.

We would also like to purchase a TV and gaming console for her room. It’s not something we normally do but this would not simply be entertainment; it would give Etta a way to stay connected with her brothers and friends through online gaming and chat when she is unable to see them in person. For an eight-year-old who has already had so much taken away from her normal childhood, maintaining those friendships and connections will be incredibly important.

We appreciate that charities receive many requests for support, and we are extremely grateful that you would take the time to consider ours. A donation would make a genuine difference to Etta and help us create a safe, comfortable and positive environment for her during what will be a very long and challenging recovery.

Most importantly, we want Etta to feel that although her world has changed, there is still plenty of happiness, laughter and normality ahead of her.

Thank you sincerely for considering supporting our daughter and our family.

With our heartfelt thanks,