The family of a six-year-old Northamptonshire girl, diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, have had their lives turned ‘completely upside down’ by the devastating news.
Florence Bark, who lives in Corby, is the Great-Niece of one of our out-of-hours receptionists in Kettering, Jean Scullion. Jean has played an active role in supporting local fundraising activities and raising awareness of Florence’s condition, an incredible act of kindness and compassion for a family that has been through a lot.
Close to home
Florence was rushed to hospital after experiencing unusual symptoms, she was quickly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), began a course of chemotherapy and will need a bone marrow transplant as part of her treatment and recovery.
Jean has been very active in campaigning for and organising local fundraising activities whilst sharing the message far and wide for the family and raising awareness of an illness that isn’t necessarily very well known.
Jean said: “I remember the day well, it was May 13th when Florence was diagnosed with ALM and rushed to Nottingham Hospital to start chemotherapy. It’s devastating to have that happen to such a young girl, but the diagnosis and treatment is only the half of it. We are now in a race against time to find her a bone marrow donor that will save her life but she currently does not have a match.
“It’s heart-breaking for all of us but there is a massive fundraising campaign going on all over the town. There has been so much support and her family has had some comfort from that; people are having fun whilst also donating money to the cause and it's just amazing.”
Working together to raise awareness
Florence has a unique genetic makeup so the chances of a transplant being unsuccessful are significantly higher than in other children with AML. As a result, the family are hoping to raise the £500,000 needed for the specialist Car-T cell therapy in Singapore or the USA, which is not available in the UK.
“Since launching the campaign, thousands of people in Corby and further afield have joined together to raise close to half a million pounds in a matter of just a few weeks. Numerous fundraising activities have taken place, showing the level of support the local community have for Florence in her battle against this illness.
“What we want is for people to share her story as wide as possible,” added Jean. “We’re close but we need more than just the fundraising, we need to find a donor. The more people who know about this campaign, the better the chance of finding that person who holds the key to saving Florence’s life.”
Everyone can help
For those wishing to help and join the bone marrow register there are several registers accepting donations, these include the British Bone Marrow Registry, Anthony Nolan and DKMS.
If you are meet the criteria and eligible to donate most of the services will issue you with a simple swab kit, this can be used to identify your tissue type to see if you are a match for a patient.
You can find out more about Florence’s campaign by visiting her site here.