Footie fans unite to help save little Isla
BITTER RIVALS DONATE CASH FOR CANCER GIRL
FANS of rival football clubs are joining up to help a little girl with cancer.
West Ham supporter Isla Caton needs £192,000 for a potentially lifesaving vaccine in the US.
And kind-hearted fans of bitter rivals Millwall have pledged thousands to help the three-year-old.
Supporters who travelled to an away match at Leeds United last month were offered a ticket refund.
And many asked for the dosh to be donated to Isla’s fundraising effort.
They will also join West Ham fans on a fundraising walk from the Hammers’ training ground in Rush Green, east London, to Stratford’s Olympic Park.
Celebrities including James Corden and EastEnders Danny Dyer, Harry Reid and Jamie Borthwick have all rallied round. Dyer even auctioned off two special tours of the Albert Square set at a fundraiser.
Isla’s mum Nicola said the family was overwhelmed. She said: “It does not matter what football team you are from. If Isla can build a bridge between Millwall and West Ham that is amazing.
“It is not about money. It is nice that so many people care – to think so many people are praying for her and on her side.
“Cancer has got no colours. It does not discriminate.
“The fans are all fighting for the same cause and I think that is wonderful.”
Isla was given a 40% chance of survival when she was diagnosed last March with neuroblastoma – the cancer that killed Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery.
Nicola, 38, revealed that when Isla fell ill in January last year doctors initially said her daughter had flu.
“I said, ‘If you do not help her she is going to die’. I took her private and she was diagnosed.”
The cancer had spread to 98% of her bones and all of her bone marrow. She lost almost a stone in weight and couldn’t talk or walk. Isla was referred to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and then had a 22cm tumour removed during a 10-hour operation.
She has had chemotherapy, but there is a 60% chance of relapse with neuroblastoma. Once the family, of Hornchurch, Essex, decided to try for treatment in the US, rival fans flocked to help. Nicola added: “My family are all West Ham. They know a lot of other fans from other clubs. They heard about Isla and wanted to help.
“All you ever hear are bad things about football fans, but these people have their own families and they are still helping us. I can’t thank them enough.”
Isla led out West Ham alongside skipper Mark Noble at a recnt match. And Spurs fans will join the cause with a bucket collection for her at Wembley Stadium. Another fundraiser will be held at Orsett Hall, Essex, next Saturday.