PEOPLE have been urged to back the campaign to send a nine-year-old to New York for "lifeline" brain tumour treatment despite the coronavirus crisis curtailing fundraising events in the community.
Eva Williams, from Marford, was diagnosed with a high-grade diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) two months ago.
A fundraising campaign to raise £250,000 to send her to New York for pioneering treatment was launched by her father Paul Slapa - but the current coronavirus crisis cast doubt on that as treatment was suspended as was travel between the UK and USA.
It also impacted on fundraising events in the community, with a sportsman's dinner to be reorganised as an online auction.
Fortunately, Paul and his wife Carran have been told another branch of the trial is open to Eva and she will be treated - making fundraising and donations more important than ever.
Hugh Adams, head of stakeholder relations for the charity Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are thinking of Eva and her family at this awful time and urge those touched by her story to back the family’s campaign. Coronavirus is having a huge impact on brain tumour patients and their families, with many having to self-isolatedue to being immunosuppressed and treatments being postponed."
The survival prognosis for this type of brain tumour – the deadliest type of childhood cancer – is eight to 12 months. The treatment is not a cure, but aims to improve patients' quality of life for longer.
Eva Williams
Paul said: “It’s unimaginable to think that the coronavirus pandemic could mean Eva is unable to have this lifeline treatment. We’ve already raised so much, with help from celebrities backing our campaign including Matt Lucas and Jacqueline Wilson, and we cannot bear the thought of not being able to spend this on Eva’s treatment.
“We are in touch with New York University Langone Health, which is running the clinical trial, and we are struggling with the amount of uncertainty. Many people who are supporting Eva’s fundraiser have had to cancel fundraising events because of coronavirus and the outbreak has come at the worst possible time for our family.”
Eva undergoing radiotherapy treatment
Eva had complained of dizziness and blurred vision before her diagnosis with a DIPG, on New Year’s Day in 2020. After an optician’s appointment, she was referred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where a CT scan revealed a mass on her brain.
Paul added: “Eva is a beautiful, kind, and caring little girl who has such a big heart. On New Year’s Day, our lives were turned upside down when our special little girl was diagnosed with a DIPG. The tumour is located in her brainstem, the part of the brain that controls breathing, swallowing and heart-rate, meaning surgery isn’t an option and as it grows there is a terrible outcome.
“DIPG is something no parent should ever have to face; there are facts which we couldn’t bring ourselves to share with Eva. We cannot believe there is no cure and her prognosis is just 12 months. Eva is an incredibly intuitive little girl, and so we have been as open as we feel that we can be, without sharing the prognosis. She accepts this for now.
“Carran and I have been overwhelmed by the donations we have received so far and are very grateful to all those who have donated. We can only hope coronavirus doesn’t destroy one of our last options to save our little girl.”
Eva with Paul and her little brother
To find out more about the campaign to get treatment for Eva visit https://uk.gofundme.com/f/unbeatable-eva
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