Couple’s desperate race to raise life-saving cash
PARENTS NEED £500,000 FOR TREATMENT FOR 11-MONTH-OLD WINNIE
A NOTTINGHAM couple are raising money in the hope their 11-monthold daughter, Winnie, can get lifesaving care in Singapore to treat a rare form of cancer.
Her parents, Lucy and Luke Impey, have raised £42,300 in five days through a Gofundme appeal – but will need more to pay for the vital treatment.
The treatment is currently thought to cost around £500,000. Friends and family have also stepped up to offer fundraising ideas and raise money.
Mum Lucy said: “We only set it up last Thursday and have been totally overwhelmed by how much we have raised already but we need a lot more as the treatment is expensive. My friends are organising fundraising and Morrisons in Netherfield are collecting money for Winnie this weekend.
“Another friend who owns a children’s clothing company, Lazy Daze, is making jumpers for her to raise money. There is only so much you can do when you are in hospital awaiting treatment.”
Winnie has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer but it does not meet the criteria for the treatment that is only offered as a trial in the UK.
She was taken to A&E with a suspected ear infection and recovered but became ill again afterwards. After she was diagnosed, when a tooth began to grow at a strange angle, she stopped walking and talking.
Doctors managed to get the leukaemia into remission using chemotherapy but Winnie relapsed.
After several treatments, including a stem cell transplant, her leukaemia changed into a rare and aggressive form. She is now being treated at Leeds General Infirmary.
As she does not meet the criteria for the UK trial, the NHS can no longer offer treatment to try to cure her, only to prolong her life. The couple say their savings only go so far and that the treatment in Singapore could save her life.
Lucy is a sixth-form psychology teacher while Luke works in fostering.
Lucy said: “She is a wonderful and kind little girl who has had the most difficult year. She has had leukaemia for about a year and she responded well to chemotherapy initially.
“Doctors would normally keep doing chemotherapy treatment but it was changed to immunotherapy which has been tested on patients before, however, it caused a change with her leukaemia and she relapsed.”
The couple started a Gofundme page when they heard that the trial would not take Winnie. They were told that she had little chance of surviving without treatment. Lucy said: “It’s been a whirlwind. We know other parents who have had children go through the treatment and who are currently in remission. They have been guiding me on the process in Singapore and have taken some of her bone marrow, which is on its way there now.” Once the bone marrow arrives in Singapore, it will be examined and tested. Consultants in the UK will speak with the doctors in Singapore to discuss what chemotherapy Winnie will need before she travels to the country for treatment. Lucy said: “It’s pretty horrific all the time but the hope that this might be her cure is getting us through.
Her consultants here have been really positive and liaised with Singapore which means a lot to us. We’ve been very impressed with the care we have had here and our consultant has been fabulous.”
Dr Beki James, paediatric haematology consultant at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “We are extremely sympathetic towards the Impey family’s cause in wanting to find a cure for Winnie’s leukaemia. Unfortunately, Winnie has reached the limits of the immunotherapy treatments available here in the UK. We wish the family the very best in seeking to be part of the clinical trial currently only available in Singapore.”
The campaign – Winnie’s Wish – will continue to keep raising money through Gofundme at https:// gofund.me/034743e3.
Morrisons in Netherfield ran a collection from Friday to yesterday.
Jumpers from Lazy Daze childrenswear are also still being sold for the appeal.
It’s pretty horrific all the time but the hope that this might be her cure is getting us through Lucy Impey