Help Lilah Fight Childhood Cancer ❤️

Hi everyone,

My name is Sammi, and I’m raising money for my best friend and her beautiful daughter, Lilah, who, at just five years old, has recently been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Lilah is receiving treatment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and is facing a long and intensive chemotherapy journey. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult and emotional time for Lilah and her family.

We want to do everything we can to help ease some of the financial burden and uncertainty, allowing her parents to focus on what matters most: being there for their little girl.

Lilah’s story ❤️

Lilah is like most 5-year-old girls — she loves pink, dresses, sparkles and squishies — but she also takes no prisoners, is fiercely headstrong and will physically fight for the last biscuit!

She enjoyed her first year at school with her friends and was blossoming. But before she had a chance to experience Year 1, our whole world fell apart.

During the first week of the summer holidays, we were in Majorca enjoying a holiday with friends. The following Friday, just four days after returning home, she had a slight temperature and a headache — nothing that raised any alarm. She continued playing as normal and even enjoyed a trip to the bowling alley for her big sister’s birthday that weekend.

By the Tuesday, she seemed to have worsened and had started vomiting. Our GP sent us into Telford Children’s Unit as a precaution, as they suspected she may be dehydrated. I didn’t suspect anything different, but I remember telling the nurse there that I was concerned about her colour — something that really stood out was how pale her lips were.

Once they were happy that she was able to keep fluids down, we were sent on our way with a likely diagnosis of gastroenteritis.

By Friday morning, I was starting to get worried. She didn’t seem to be improving, and I was starting to notice serious fatigue. Our GP sent us straight back to Telford. This time, I pressed again about her colour, and blood tests were done.

These raised immediate concerns due to seriously low blood counts, and we were admitted for transfusions.

The following morning is a blur.

A consultant came to see us and made us aware that we needed to be transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to be seen by Oncology and Haematology. I remember just breaking down and thinking they must be wrong. After all, it was just a stomach bug...

We were transferred that day. By the following afternoon, she had had a bone marrow biopsy, and we were told it was cancer.

When you hear those words and look at this beautiful, smiley little girl, who is presenting so well after receiving some magic blood that has put the colour back in her cheeks, it just doesn’t feel real.

You carry on convincing yourself that they must be wrong and that this is all some horrible mistake.

But it wasn’t.

After further testing of the bone marrow, we had it confirmed the next day that the type was Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

AML is an aggressive form of blood cancer affecting only around 80 children a year in the UK. The treatment is intensive, and bone marrow transplants are sometimes required. We were told she would be an inpatient for six months for treatment, and they were starting the first round of chemotherapy that day.

We had no time to process any of it. Even now, I think everything has happened so quickly — but unfortunately, that is typical of childhood cancer.

We will never forget that day — hearing the diagnosis, the gravity of it, the treatment plan, the side effects, the possible need for a transplant, the prospect of six months on the ward, the fear, the anxiety, the anger, the grief...

She has been through so much since that day already — having so many cannulas and needles before her central line was fitted, lumbar punctures, more bone marrow biopsies, countless scans and X-rays, chemotherapy, an infection that landed her in intensive care for six days, more antibiotics than many have in a lifetime, daily physio to get her back on her feet, a feeding tube so we can keep nutrition going in after weeks of not eating, dressing changes, red light therapy and hair loss.

And through it all, she keeps smiling. She stays positive and can’t wait to get back to school to tell all her friends all about it!

Lilah is a fighter. She is strong, and she has handled all of the above with a smile on her face (most of the time!) and with the determination of a warrior.

I couldn’t be any prouder of her.

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How your donations will help

Every penny raised will go towards helping Lilah and her family through this incredibly challenging time.

The money will help provide Lilah with everything she needs and wants during her long hospital stays, as well as practical essentials for her parents while they spend so much time by her side.

We would also love to put some of the funds towards a holiday of a lifetime for Lilah and her family once she is well enough, giving them something truly special to look forward to after everything they have endured.

Every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference.

If you aren’t able to donate, sharing this page or sending a kind message means just as much to us. ❤️

Please consider donating blood

We would also like to highlight the incredible importance of donating blood and joining the stem cell register.

For children like Lilah, blood donations and potential stem cell donors can be absolutely vital. They can help give children facing cancer the support they need during treatment and, where a transplant is required, may offer a chance of a lifesaving match.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading Lilah’s story, for every donation, every share and every kind thought.

Your support means the world to Lilah and her family.

Please help us support this beautiful little girl in her fight. ❤️

With love,

Sammi