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My story

 


Jamie (age 4) was diagnosed with an abdominal tumour on Apr 1st as he had suddenly become unwell in nursery. I was in the UK on an inspection in Catterick. He had no obvious symptoms of any illness before other that low level symptoms. My wife called me and within 4 hours the Army Compassionate cell had arranged flights to Dusseldorf Uni Klinic. After several days they diagnosed Neuroblastoma stage 4 and found out that it was MYCN amplified(aggressive form) The cancer had infiltrated the bone marrow as well. His prognosis was given to be 20-30% survival so we were devastated. The MIGB scan revealed that it had spread from his kidney into the femurs of both legs and around the orbital in his eye and some of the lymph nodes. 

He started chemo after all the tests for high risk Neuroblastoma. He was very sick at first and we were in hosp for 7 weeks without break. The tumour was so big that it started to affect his breathing and he would not eat or drink or hardly move in his bed. After a month or so he started to improve a little and gain some mobility with physio. After several blocks of chemo he started to respond well to the treatment. After block 6 he became very ill and developed pneumonia and  he suffered a sepsis which required ventilation on an ICU for two weeks. For 24 hours his situation was very critical and we were very close to losing him but he managed to pull through. Two weeks after this incident he received his Op to remove the affected kidney and tumour which was carried out successfully however there are still residual tumour cells remaining. He has now had 7 of 8 blocks of chemo and will then receive high dose to complete his treatment. 

During his treatment I was posted from Herford to Monchengladbach were my wife works as a teacher at JHQ in Rhine Military Complex so we could be together as a family and also in closer proximity to where Jamie was receiving his treatment in Dusseldorf. The army welfare, local community and friends have been very supportive and the military health service (British Forces Germany Health Service) have helped us right from the outset. The hospital facilities and staff are also fantastic. I have been given time off work since April to look after Jamie as we had a baby girl in Jul and my wife (Vick) could not possibly manage both. I would have probably deployed to Afghanistan had my son not been ill. 

Even though Jamie has responded well to the initial treatment the chances of his cancer relapsing over the next year is very high(40% of cases). The relapse is normally caused by microscopic cells which have survived the chemo and is referred to as minimal residual disease (MRD).  Unfortunately when the children relapse the prognosis for survival is reduced significantly and the chance of a cure is very small. A recent antibody trial in the States has been very successful as it targets the MRD and improves the chances of survival by 20%. This treatment may well become a standard regime in the future, however, Jamie does not have much time. 
He has just completed his high dose therapy and should be leaving hospital shortly (beginning February
2010). He now has to have treatment in the US within 90 days.

This potential life saving treatment is available at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This treatment, however, doesn’t come cheap. We need to raise £250,000 before Jamie can be given the potentially life-saving therapy.

Please help our son and Poppy's big brother, Jamie.

 

Full details on: http://www.jamie-appeal.org/ 

From Enterprise Rent -a Car, Foss Islands branch, York Donation by Mick Cottingham 17/03/10  

£12.25

From Food for Thought, Haxby Donation by sarah cottingham 17/03/10  

£13.10

From City of York offices, 9 St Leonards Donation by Sue Cottingham 17/03/10  

£79.46 + £22.41 Gift Aid

Best wishes thanks to York City Council Food Team for letting me know. Donation by John Scott 17/03/10  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Jamie, you will beat this ..... with love GSB, CB & JSB x Donation by The Brown's 17/03/10  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Good Luck in America! Donation by Michelle Scott 16/03/10  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

Donation by shane woods 16/03/10  

£500.00

best wishes Donation by ray barrett 16/03/10  

Good Luck from the Mouaj family Donation by Karim Mouaj 16/03/10  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Donation by Stephen Raggett 16/03/10  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

RAISED IN FELIXSTOWE GOOD LUCK HOPE EVERYTHING WORKS OUT FOR YOU Donation by angela porter 15/03/10  

£1,408.70

Good luck with the fight little fella, couldnt wish you any more luck. Donation by David Lancaster 15/03/10  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Saw you on twitter.co.uk. I wish you all the very best, Susan Donation by Susan Palmer 15/03/10  

£5.00

Lots of love to Jamie from Fairyland Lyn x Donation by Lynden Cowap 14/03/10  

JHQ's Tuesday Slimming World Group Slimathon - Wishing you all the best Xx Donation by Samuel Bailey 14/03/10  

£600.00 + £169.23 Gift Aid

Get well soon Jamie, you have lots of friends. Donation by Sal Abbagnale 13/03/10  

Good luck & best wishes from MDPGA Imphal Barracks, York Donation by Callum Moir 13/03/10  

£150.00 + £42.31 Gift Aid

Good luck, Jamie Donation by Harlequin Singing Group, York - 12/3/10 12/03/10  

£250.00

Get well soon little fella. Keep on fighting. Lots of love Robert, Dawn & Marissa xxxx Donation by Robert Tomenson 12/03/10  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Donation by Joan Rhind 11/03/10  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Your all doing so well keep up the fight and I hope so much that all goes well. Best wishes Martin,Lynsey,George & Harry x Donation by Martin Killeen 11/03/10  

Get well soon little man! Big hugs love Becky xxxxx Donation by Rebecca Stubbs 11/03/10  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Your little boy is gorgeous and we wish you all the luck in the world. Donation by Wayne Stevens & Holly Stevens 11/03/10  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

You have a beautiful son. Go well. Donation by Sandra Grieve 10/03/10  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

top lad Donation by Simon Shergold 09/03/10  

Good luck little fella. Donation by Steve H 09/03/10  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

i wish the best for your son and your family! Donation by Natalie Cornell 08/03/10  

£3.00

With love and best wishes to you all Donation by SHELLEY CAREY 08/03/10  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid

I hope little jamie makes a full recovery and that the treatment is successful. Donation by lauren house 08/03/10  

I am a friend of Lisa Hall and heard about your little boy. I really hope he gets the treatment he needs. Donation by Rebecca Gubbins 07/03/10  

£10.00
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* Total raised online: £86,986.62
  Offline donations: £0.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £18,956.53

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