In October 2018 my grandson Alfie was rushed to hospital with a high temperature and sickness . We were told within hours that he possibly had leukemia. Our world fell apart ....he was 11 months old and seriously ill .... His parents Saffron and Ollie were devastated . Ollie had only just finished treatment himself for Hodgkins lymphoma so it seemed even more unbelievable that from a beautiful little family of 3 this could be happening to 2 of them .
So began tests to get a proper diagnosis. A few days later we were told it was leukemia but not the usual child hood type but one which usually effects the over 60s. This is a very aggressive form of leukemia which would entail 6 months in hospital. So began the worries.....Would he cope with the treatment ? Would it work ? What if it didn't? Sleepless nights , nightmares when we did sleep , the dread of waiting for results,the dread of being taken into a private room to be told bad news . Such stress .
Alfie had to have 4 rounds of chemotherapy, many weeks in a barrier room because of infections, endless blood tests ,platelet and blood transfusions , Hickman line dressing changes, ct scans ,x rays, bone marrow aspirations, steroids, anti biotics,oxygen and a stint in intensive care for help with his breathing .
During his final round we were dealt another blow . They had found a gene mutation called PTPN11. A 2 week anxious wait to see if it was in his DNA or in the leukemia cells started and we were told they would start to look for a stem cell match . Unfortunately there is no match at the present time so we are currently working with the Anthony Noland trust to recruit more donors .
There is also another treatment called CAR T cell therapy but this costs £150000 and this is what this plea is for .
Please can you help us raise this money to give Alfie a chance .He is 17 months old now and the light of our lives .
Thank you .
#hope4Alfie