Sponsored by
Bone marrow donor appeal as brave Sophie battles cancer
SOPHIE Edwards is getting used to losing her hair and not being able to play with her friends.
Seven-year-old Sophie was diagnosed with a rare form of life-threatening cancer of the blood earlier this year and now urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. Friends and family, including her 12-year-old brother, have been tested but so far no match has been found.
Before her illness she was a typical seven-year-old, who loved playing with her friends. Now the little girl who loves Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters and the colour pink, has had to grow up quickly and get used to losing her shoulder-length hair, as she undergoes intensive chemotherapy at home and in hospital.
Her mother, Emma, who has had to give up her job as a school lunchtime assistant to look after her daughter said: "I have told her she is brave."
Father Andrew added: "To a seven-year-old girl losing her hair meant everything but these last couple of weeks she has been fantastic, she hasn't been wearing a wig or a hat, she goes out with her little bald head."
Sophie, of Huddersfield, was originally diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in February. Her parents took her to hospital after she felt unwell and had developed a rash. She was transferred to St James's Hospital, in Leeds, and within 24 hours the cancer was diagnosed.
Worse news was to come – a week later doctors told Mr and Mrs Edwards that Sophie was suffering from the leukaemia with Philadelphia syndrome, a rare, rapidly progressing cancer of the blood which affects only eight or nine children a year in Britain.
Mr Edwards, 36, said: "You could have hit me with a sledgehammer and it would not have felt any worse – it was devastating."
Sophie has to have constant intensive chemotherapy at home and hospital, but a bone marrow transplant is the only option to beat the disease and a desperate search is now under way to find a donor.
Mr Edwards said: "She has a 12-year-old brother, Sam. It's affected him as well, they are very close.
"He wanted to be a donor for her, but he's been tested and he cannot."
Because of the intensive treatment Sophie is undergoing, her immune system is not working correctly and she is prone to infection. So she cannot meet up with her friends and is not well enough to go to her school, Stile Common Infant and Nursery School.
Mr Edwards said: "She can't play out with her friends, she is not allowed to go to school because of the risk of infection. She loves playing out with her friends, so that has been hard.
"Her teacher has been and brought her cards and a picture of her classmates waving at her.
"She goes to a small school and there's only 16 children in her class, so they are really close-knit."
The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register is now being checked for a match. The Anthony Nolan Trust and Sophie's family and friends are holding a clinic in Huddersfield next week to seek a donor for Sophie and others on the register. It will be held at Newsome South Methodist Church Hall, Birch Road, Berry Brow, Huddersfield, 3.30pm to 6.30pm on Thursday, May 15. People are urged to attend and be willing to be a donor, not just for Sophie, but anyone on the register. Those attending need to give a small blood sample to see if they are suitable.
Donors must be aged 18-40 and be in good health. For more information visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk
Mrs Edwards urged as many people as possible to come along and be tested: "At the end of the day they could be the one that saves Sophie's life, or the life of somebody else," she said.
"It's not just for Sophie this clinic, going on the Bone Marrow Register helps other people," her husband said.
Mr Edwards added: "Until it happens to you, you don't take any notice; there's a lot more people needing bone marrow treatment than you think."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
