Every time Florence Bark, age 6, receives chemotherapy, she dresses in a different princess gown.
The child is facing acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare kind of illness, and her parents Andrew and Stacey are working to fund half a million pounds for her life-saving treatment, which is not covered by the NHS.
When Florence was first brought to the hospital with strange symptoms, physicians initially believed she had tonsillitis, then a chest or ear infection.
But on May 13, the family was informed that Florence had cancer, and on May 14, she began chemotherapy.
She developed high temperatures and was lethargic towards the beginning of May, according to her father Andrew. She was experiencing temperature spikes most evenings.
They first determined that she had a chest infection. Tonsillitis is followed by an ear infection.
In ten days, we visited the doctor five times. She suffered from mouth ulcers, a typical AML symptom. They continued to say the same things each time we returned.
Thank goodness, my wife kept coming back. Her maternal instincts sprang to the fore. Of all days, Friday the 13th, we visited A&E.
Eventually, they did her bloods. Her white blood cell level was so low that leukemia was immediately identified.
“Her gums were really beginning to protrude.” Ulcers were all over her mouth. We now understand that this symptom is widespread.
‘My wife then broke down in tears and called me at work to tell me she had blood cancer. After blinking, I found myself on the ground.
But in addition to other potentially life-saving treatments, Florence also needs a bone marrow transplant.
Because the specific Car-T cell therapy is not available in the UK, Andrew and Stacey are attempting to raise the £500,000 required.
She falls under the high-risk group, Andrew continues. Before we know the outcome of the bone transplant, we will schedule the Car-T therapy.
It’s very likely that you’ll need to use it as a backup plan. The safest approach is a bone marrow transplant, but CAR-T treatment is a possibility.
Their neighborhood in Corby, Northamptonshire, has so far raised more than £330,000 in just over a month.
Additionally, to collect money to celebrate Florence’s sixth birthday, thousands of individuals dressed in rainbow colors went to work and school this week.
The support for their “happy go lucky” girl, who is always eager to lift the spirits of other kids on her ward, has astounded Andrew and Stacey, who say they are completely overwhelmed.
Her compassion for a youngster is out of this world. She smiles brightly and broadly. Andrew continues, “She always has everyone else in mind.
Florence’s JustGiving page can be found here.
God have mercy