Fundraiser hits £40k in three days with target of £250k to send Wrexham girl with rare brain tumour to USA for clinical trial

A fundraising campaign to help raise a quarter of a million pounds to send a young girl from Wrexham who has a rare brain tumour to America for a clinical trial, has been launched.

Eva was diagnosed with the inoperable and incurable Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) tumour over New Year’s after initially experiencing dizziness and blurred vision.

However during a trip to the opticians, Eva lost some of the control of her eyes and was enable to move them to the right. She was them referred to the hospital’s ophthalmology department for testing.

Writing on Eva’s GoFundMe page, Eva’s family say: “Eva had her appointment at the hospital, and when a doctor is choking back tears, unable to tell you the problem, you know something is wrong.

“We were immediately referred for an emergency CT Scan, and our hell began – a ‘mass’ appeared in the image, and we were informed that we would be headed to Alder Hey that evening. Looking back, even at this point, I don’t think either of us could imagine what was coming”

“When we arrived at Alder Hey that evening, we were told that Eva would undertake an MRI the following day, and that would tell us exactly what we were dealing with, however that it was almost definitely a mass in the brain stem, which would be inoperable due to its location.

“We spent New Year’s Eve together – Eva, Carran and I – in a room at Alder Hey, watching the fireworks as people celebrated the start of 2020.

“On New Year’s Day, Eva completed her MRI and we waited on the results. Visits from grandparents and Eva’s two brothers helped pass the time, but we knew bad news was coming and it did.”

DIPG is a rare diseased, affecting a small number of children, mainly between the ages of two and 12, each year.

There is no know cure and the average life expectancy post-diagnosis is less than 12 months.

However her family say that their research has found that clinical trials of a drug in the US has “shown huge promise in targeting DIPG” which may help extend Eva’s life.

After conversations with Eva’s consultant, friends and family are raising £250,000 to get Eva on the trial.

Eva’s family say: “I’ll reiterate that there is no cure – we understand that. That said, there are medical trials taking place all over the world, lead by medical teams who fight day and night to try to find something to save our children.

“Unfortunately, many of these trials are unavailable in the UK, and many are unavailable in Europe. Because of this, any potential treatment – which may extend Eva’s life – is highly expensive and difficult to access.

“Any funds raised will be used to provide Eva with medical care, access to medicine, and any possible clinical trials.

“If we find ourselves in a position where we do not require the funds raised, we will be donating to DIPG charities and to children suffering with this disease.”

Since first retweeting the funder three days ago the campaign has been shared thousands of times across various social media, and at the time of writing the donations are over the £40,000 mark already.

The family add they “…are putting aside our concerns about sharing this publicly, and are instead asking, begging, for help.  We are asking for you to donate anything you can – no matter how big or small – to help us to access the best possible treatment for Eva, and therefore to provide her the best possible chance of beating this”.

You can donate to the ‘Unbeatable Eva – Fight against DIPG’ fundraiser here. You can also find out more information on the Unbeatable Eva Facebook page.