My daughter Amber was admitted to Northampton General Hospital on 27th July 2017 and on 11th August 2017 had surgery at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham to remove a tumour. Initially the growth was thought to be cancerous but thankfully it was benign. Amber eventually underwent a 5 hour operation including a bone graft where the tumour was removed, insertion of a metal plate and pins to repair the fracture to her femur.

She has been diagnosed as having a desmoplastic fibroma which is an aggressive benign rare tumour – there are only 8 cases in the last 30 years. At Amber’s outpatient’s appointment on 18th October 2017 at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital we were informed that she still cannot weight bear on her damaged leg (we were hoping that it would be 40% but the x-ray showed that the fracture is taking longer to mend), that the re-occurrence of the tumour is 40% which is high in medical terms due to it being rare; and that it will take up to two years for the femur to fully heal. Any fall or injury to her leg would entail further invasive reconstructive surgery and a longer recovery period therefore Amber is currently off school for another term due to the risk. Amber will need reviews every 3 months at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital to monitor her condition.

Before Amber’s illness she was very active, she was chosen to represent the school at several athletic events and originally chose dance and sport as her GCSE options which sadly we have had to change due to her condition. Amber was at competition level in dog agility with our dog Bella and was a keen horse rider. Amber has high hopes of becoming a veterinary nurse and before her surgery she was volunteering at the local dog rehoming centre.

I have thought long and hard whether to do this and have included hospital letters for authenticity but the reason why I have set up fundraising is that Amber would love to go and visit ZSL Whipsnade Zoo – this Zoo is wheelchair friendly because although Amber is now back at home she is unable to walk unaided and ‘lives’ downstairs due to the stairs. She was in hospital all throughout the summer holidays so missed out on any trips – apart from the one in an ambulance to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham! Unfortunately I just cannot afford the tickets, travel expenses and food due to the costs I have incurred whilst Amber was in hospital (I stayed with her throughout her time there in both hospitals) and other numerous expenses e.g. a special wheelchair due to the fact that I have ME and fibromyalgia and I cannot physically pick up or push a 17kg standard wheelchair, disability aids and unexpected clothing e.g. shorts and nightgowns so the medical team could access her leg.

Occupational Health and grant awarding bodies that I have applied to, have informed me that they cannot assist due to the disability being temporary. However, there are conflicting medical opinions regarding Amber's condition, as in Northampton General Hospital state that her disability is temporary but the specialist hospital 'Royal Orthopaedic Hospital' in Birmingham state that it is permanent and that they are now managing her condition.

If the funding goes over the total for the Whipsnade Zoo day trip, I will put the remaining amount towards the installation of a shower. At the moment Amber cannot use the bath/shower at home due to the height of the bath so has to have bed baths. Thankfully a good friend has come to the rescue and is completely refitting the bathroom to install a shower but understandably I will have to cover the material expenses e.g. shower unit, tiles, sink, toilet etc.