A four-year-old boy Westoning boy, whose family is raising money to fund the treatment of his cancer has received £1,000 from Bedfordshire developer Barratt Homes.
Ollie was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma just before his second birthday, a cancer that has a 10% chance of surviving longer than five years.
The fundraising group, High Five for Ollie, was formed by his family to help pay for three separate treatments totalling £500,000, which would give him the best chance of beating the disease. There is no such treatment available on the NHS.
Jane Healy, Ollie’s Great Auntie and Fundraising Manager of High Five for Ollie, said: “We heard about the Bivalent Vaccine clinical trial in New York when Ollie was first diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. The fundraising began to pay for the trial which we hoped would start as soon as Ollie got into remission. It was April 2020 when he was declared to be in remission, but due to the pandemic the treatment was put on hold.”
Ollie relapsed in July 2020, but through further chemotherapy and cranial-spinal radiation his scans currently show no evidence of disease. However, the cancer now has a greater than 50% chance of returning, so his family are doing everything possible to stop this happening.
Jane continued: “Since his second remission, it was recommended that Ollie should receive two other treatments prior to the Bivalent Vaccine to give him the best chance of survival. Ollie is currently going through the first of these treatments at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona which will hopefully prevent a further central nervous system relapse. Following this, he will have antibody treatment.”
Jane continued: “Of course the national lockdown hindered our ability to fundraise, but over the year we managed to raise over £100,000 from online raffles and events!
“The donation from Barratt Homes was absolutely amazing and we are so thankful for their support. The Bivalent Vaccine is showing some promising results in those patients who have suffered a relapse, so every single donation helps us get one step closer to helping Ollie beat his cancer.”
The two treatments in Barcelona this year and the clinical trial in New York next year will cost a total of £500,000. So far, the appeal has raised over £290,000.
Amer Alkhalil, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Northampton, said: “It’s great to help Ollie get one step closer towards his treatment and overcome this disease.
“It is important to us a leading housebuilder to recognise and support the local communities near our developments and we hope that this donation will help to make a difference to Ollie.”
To find out more or to donate towards High Five for Ollie, please visit https://www.solvingkidscancer.org.uk/Appeal/ollie
For more information on Barratt Homes, visit the website at https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/.
