We are fund-raising for Katrina Baylis, a Colchester resident, to raise money for wigs she will need following treatment and any other items that will be required to support her post-treatment.

Katrina was diagnosed with a life threatening condition known as Aplastic Anaemia 17 years ago at the age of 15, a rare blood disorder which affects the bone marrow and as a result she doesn’t produce enough blood cells and has a weak immune system. She was treated at Addenbrooke’s hospital which was a success, however relapsed four years later only to be told the condition had not only returned but had gotten worse, she now also has underlying pre leukaemia cells as well as 2 other conditions known as Myeloid Dysplasia and PNH clone. Her only hope of a cure this time is a bone-marrow transplant but because she is mixed race there is a shortage of people on the registry and there is only a 1 in 500,000 chance of her finding a donor.

Over the years the doctors have tried to keep her as stable as possible but over the last year her condition has gotten worse and she has become dependent on blood transfusions and is constantly back and forth to the hospital. She has started to undergo new treatment which resulted in a lot of her hair falling out and with the possibility of the bone-marrow transplant looming closer than ever, which involves chemo therapy, we are trying to raise money to get a wig made for her to help her go through this transition.