Frankie-Rose Lea was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in August. Despite weeks of painful chemotherapy treatment, the tumor had tripled in size, with the cancer spreading to her spine.
Experts said her best chance of surviving the aggressive tumor is immediate proton beam therapy, but that would cost the family £160,000. Her parents Michelle and Sam Lea feared that without swift treatment she would not live until Christmas, so they put their house up for immediate sale, saying they would rather “live in a box” than fail to exhaust every possibility to save Frankie-Rose.
In just four days, following media reports in the UK’s Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and ITV News, more than 7300 contributors donated £167,000 to help the seven-year-old and her family.
“You are all amazing!” exclaimed Nicola Townsend who set up a GoFundMe page. “We now have the money to get Frankie Rose Lea the treatment she needs.”
“There are no words to describe your kindness. We are overwhelmed with the response,” Frankie-Rose’s mum tweeted. “The support gives us encouragement and something good to focus on.”
Jo in Wales summed it all up today on Twitter” “How can you not love the British public when we make this happen.”
(More photos at the Daily Mail)
Story tip summary submitted by Raffaela Goodby