Family fundraising for treatment offering 'only hope' to Aberdeenshire schoolgirl with cancer

Nearly half a million pounds has been raised to pay for a schoolgirl from Aberdeenshire who is battling leukaemia to undergo treatment offering a “final glimmer of hope” to her family.

The family of ten-year-old Sophia Wilson from Sauchen say their world “crumbled” when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in July this year.

The schoolgirl faced her treatment with “incredible strength and courage” but was told she needed an urgent umbilical stem cell transplant.

Launching the fundraiser, which has reached more than £450,000, the family say they have been told her leukaemia levels have risen too high for the transplant to go ahead.

Sophia Wilson, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. GoFundMe

As her cancer has become “extremely aggressive”, all treatment options in the UK have been exhausted.

A specialised drug only available in America is said to be the “final glimmer of hope”, with funds raised going towards the cost of the drug, treatment, essential travel, and accommodation.

The family wrote on the GoFundMe: “We are devastated. This transplant isn’t just another treatment for Sophia – it is her only hope.

“But for the transplant to even be possible, her cancer must be reduced to a safe enough level. And tragically, all treatment options available here in the UK have now been exhausted.

“There is, however, one final glimmer of hope: a specialised drug available only in America. This treatment may be able to bring her cancer levels down enough for her to receive the life-saving stem cell transplant she urgently needs.

“This treatment is urgent. And with the cost of the drug, treatment, essential travel, and accommodation, the total may come to around £500,000.

“We are doing everything we can, but we cannot reach this alone. We are asking, with all the hope and humility in our hearts, for your help.

“Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to giving Sophia the chance she deserves. A chance to grow up. A chance to return to school.

“A chance to keep being the bright, creative, animal-loving little girl she has always been.”

You can view the fundraiser for Sophia here.