Hi there. Thank you for taking time out to read our story.

On Tuesday 3rd July, my 4 year old grand-daughter Maya was diagnosed with carrying a Primitive Neuroectodermal (PNET) tumour, which is a profoundly aggressive and large malignant brain tumour that arises from undeveloped brain cells. This has came about as a massive shock to the family and I, as no parent/grandparent would expect their grandchild/child to sustain such a dangerous disease. Although the diagnosis of the disease itself came as a surprise, we knew there was at least something wrong with Maya after monitoring here for a while. She would complain quite frequently of rather intolerable headaches during day and night, and most worryingly, vomit with no apparent reason. These phenomenons ensued for a week or so, at which point I advised my son to take her to the GP.

The GP advised that we go to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, as he suspected an MRI/CT scan would provide more definitive answers, rather than him just speculating, and so we did. Maya was subjected to both a CT and MRI scan, after which we were informed of the PNET cancer diagnosis. In response to this, the surgeon told us that they would operate on Maya imminently, performing a surgery known as a ventriculostomy. This would comprise draining fluid caused by the tumour into another part of the brain. We were all so relieved to hear that there was a treatment for this, and the confidence in the oncologist's voice gave us such reassurance. Little did we know this wouldn't be the end to our beautiful Maya's pain.

The surgeon arrived back from operating on Maya, and announced that there was far too much and far too thick fluid to move to other parts of the brain ; doing so would only cause further damage. We were absolutely distraught, but we knew there was nothing more the surgeons could have done. They had formed a great multidisciplinary team at the BRI just for Maya, consisting of oncologists and neurosurgeons. We were grateful to say the least, but still very saddened. Following this failed surgery attempt, more operations followed, but all came out unsuccessful.

We have been advised by the team at the BRI that there is still hope for Maya, but that hope lies 3517 miles away in Michigan, USA, and at a fair price too. Our wish is to send Maya to the USA for beam proton therapy, to get rid of the tumour. Owing to the fact that very few facilities in the world offer this treatment due to such expensive equipment, we have worked out the cost of sending Maya to the US will be roughly £130,500. We have thankfully found a large amount of this from savings, but still require approximately £30,000.

We know everybody has their own difficulties in life, but please, we plead with everyone to give whatever they can to give our Maya a fair chance to live her life. May I reiterate once again our thanks to you for reading our story.