THE family of four-year-old Esme Spicer are raising money for four charities as a thank you for the support they have received whilst the youngster has been treated for cancer.
Esme’s sister, nine-year old Olivia, kickstarted the fundraising in June, by running the equivalent distance to a marathon, 26.2 miles, throughout the month. Olivia ran the final mile of her marathon challenge at a special event at the cricket club, cheered on by friends and family.
“We are so proud of both our girls,” said parents Ben and Anne Spicer.
So far the family has raised over £4,600 – and with dad Ben in training for the London marathon in October, and mum Anne gearing up for the Chiltern 50km ultra marathon in September, the total raised looks set to continue climbing. The family also plan to organise other fundraising events throughout the year.
The family are raising money for Molly Olly’s Wishes, a charity that supports children with life-threatening illnesses and their families; Time is Precious, a charity that supports children and their families in hospital and at home; Young lives vs Cancer, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families; and Barnardo’s, the UK’s largest children’s charity.
Four-year-old Esme was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue, last year in August, shortly before her birthday.
Her parents said, “It was completely out of the blue as Esme was extremely well in herself and just appeared overnight with a large lump (her tumour) on her shoulder. Since then she has endured nine rounds of intense chemotherapy, 23 sessions of radiotherapy under daily general anaesthetics and an operation to remove a large part of her scapula.
“She is now currently having daily chemotherapy at home and once a week in Bath. Throughout all of her treatment she has never stopped smiling and has charmed everyone she meets. We could not be more proud of her or her sister Olivia for the way they have both shined throughout this.”
The family has praised the support of all the medical professionals involved in Esme’s treatment, and the charities that have helped them.
“One charity that has done this for us and many other children is Molly Olly’s,” explain Ben and Anne. “They provide gifts to individuals and donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK. Esme’s dream was to go to Legoland and to stay in the Legoland hotel. Molly Olly’s made this dream come true for her and we all had the best time. They also gave Esme books and a teddy that helped to explain to her in a gentle child-friendly way what having a tumour means and also what chemotherapy would be like. These were invaluable. We would love to raise money for them to help them to continue to provide these wishes and materials for children around the country.
“Another charity who we want to raise money for and one that have been present throughout all aspects of our journey is Time is Precious. One of the most amazing things that they have funded is a DVD player that you can watch whilst in the MRI scanner. This cost £16,000 and is an incredible addition to the MRI scanner. It meant that Esme at the age of three could watch Frozen and have a 45 minute scan without the need for a general anaesthetic. They also, amongst other things, provide toys for the wards and funded the children’s garden at the RUH.
“We would also love to raise money for ‘Young Lives vs Cancer.’ They provided us with accommodation in Bristol whilst Esme was having daily treatment for the month of December. They have also provided us with a wonderful social worker Lorna who has helped us throughout this journey. We would love to help them continue to support families like ours.
“Ben and I are acutely aware that what has happened to Esme is just bad luck and we have been so blessed to have so much support and love to help us get through it. Some families are not as lucky as ours and we know that there are children and young people out there that are facing things that no child should go through including severe poverty, fleeing warzones, abuse, drug misuse. We would therefore like to raise money for Barnardo’s to help them to continue to support vulnerable children and young people.”
To sponsor the Spicer family, visit their online fundraising page: www. justgiving.com/crowdfunding/spicer-family-fundraising
