Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHARLIE’S £25K TECH MEX HOPE
Pandemic journey left me petrified but if we stay in UK he will die
A BOY who touched the heart of TV stars is in Mexico for last-chance therapy that might save him.
Mum Toni Ilsley raised £25,000 to take son Charlie abroad – though doing so in the Covid-19 pandemic petrified her.
Charlie, 13, has battled medulloblastoma – the highest-grade brain tumour for children – since he was eight.
In January he was given months to live. Parents Toni and Mark, 52, are clinging to the hope that a three-week trial at the Williams’ Cancer Institute in Mexico City can offer a miracle cure.
He is midway through treatment led by Dr Jason Williams. It uses a protein in the body to attack tumorous cells.
Pharmacist technician Toni, 50, said from Mexico: “No one at such a young age should be going through what he’s had to endure. Learning the NHS could do no more almost destroyed us.
“We were getting to the point doctors said he wouldn’t live to – but thankfully we scraped the funds to get to Mexico. I was petrified to take Charlie but told myself if I don’t, he will die. It’s his last chance. So far, so good, though it’s too early to say. Charlie is in good spirits and swimming between therapy.”
The family has won support from John Bishop, fellow comedian Katherine Ryan and actor Chris O’Dowd. They met at a Stand Up To Cancer event which helped raise £80,000 to send Charlie to Turkey for CyberKnife radiotherapy treatment.
That was in 2018 – after Charlie’s brain tumours spread. The treatment worked, he was declared cancer-free but the cruel disease returned last November.
Mum-of-three Toni, from Henley, Oxfordshire, says she was told no more
CARE Charlie has therapy in Mexico could be done. She said: “I went into shock, I couldn’t eat or sleep. We tried to make it the best Christmas, knowing it could be his last.”
With the NHS offering palliative chemo, the family went private – paying £3,000 so Charlie could get drugs through a reservoir inserted under his scalp. But after one of four treatments, appointments were halted due to Covid-19. Toni said: “Every door was closing. I researched America and Turkey, but the pandemic made it hard to find anyone to treat
SUPPORT Toni and actor Chris O’Dowd
Charlie. Finding Doctor Williams was a miracle. I sent Charlie’s scans and we spoke for hours on Skype. Eventually, he said Charlie was eligible.” Arriving in Mexico brought its own drama – earthquake tremors hurtling Charlie across a room as he lay in bed. “We thought we would die,” said Toni.
She, Mark and Charlie are in Mexico until scans gauge how successful treatment has been. They continue to fundraise in case he needs further therapy.
Toni said: “Between treatment we’ve created memories including visiting a ranch where Charlie rode a horse. All we can hope now is that the therapy works.”
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said there were UK trials of Charlie’s treatment but eligibility depended on individual circumstances. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the John Radcliffe Hospital where Charlie had care, did not comment.
ON LAST-BID MISSION TO MEXICO
You can donate at justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/teamcharlie2020