The parents of a schoolgirl diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer raised a staggering £600,000 in a matter of weeks to fund vital treatment in the US.
Ten-year-old Sophia Wilson, of Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) in July and was told she needed an urgent umbilical stem cell transplant to survive.
This month, she received further devastating news that her condition had advanced too far to allow the transplant to go ahead – and that the only real option left for her in the UK was palliative care.
But instead of giving up, her parents Kim and Craig Wilson and godmother Pammy Morrison embarked on a remarkable effort to raise £600,000 towards lifesaving treatment using a specialist drug only available in the US.
The funds will meet the cost of the drug, treatment, essential travel, and accommodation and offer a ‘final glimmer of hope’ for the schoolgirl and her family.
Sophia Wilson, of Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
More than £600,000 has been raised to help the youngster
Donations surpassed the total the family needed within just weeks
And in just weeks, the funds have surpassed the total the family need.
On Christmas Eve, Ms Morrison posted a message of gratitude on behalf of the family on her GoFundMe page, which read: ‘It was three weeks ago today that we had to leave the transplant ward in Glasgow on the basis that the only real option available left for Sophia in the UK was palliative care.’
AML is a rare type of cancer of the white blood cells, which progresses quickly and aggressively. Around 3,100 people are diagnosed with it each year in the UK.
Sophia’s parents recalled how their ‘beautiful, bright and funny’ daughter has faced her treatment ‘with incredible strength and courage’, adding: ‘At first, her body responded well, and for a precious moment we believed she was winning her battle.
Sophia Wilson has faced her treatment with ‘incredible strength and courage’
A specialised drug only available in America is Sophia Wilson’s ‘final glimmer of hope’
‘But recently, our hearts were shattered when we learned that her cancer has become extremely aggressive.
‘Sophia’s only chance of long-term survival is to receive an umbilical stem cell transplant, and just days ago she reached the transplant ward—only to be told that her leukaemia levels had risen far too high for the transplant to go ahead.’
Sophie’s devastated parents learned that the only way to bring her leukaemia levels down to a safe level and allow the operation to go ahead was for Sophie to receive the specialised drug only available in the US.
The family has been waiting to hear if it can be prescribed and shipped to the UK.
They added: ‘When you know there is a drug available in the US that is specifically designed to help Sophia’s exact type of leukaemia, the only real option for us was to try and find a way to get it.
‘And due to the help of some amazing people, doctors in the US, Europe and here in Aberdeen, together with each and every single person who donated, shared or helped in any way whatsoever, Sophia managed to start her treatment on December 20.
‘We now have hope and cannot thank everyone enough.’
