Ella's biggest challenge

Ella is my brave and inspirational 15 year old niece. In January of this year she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Wilms tumour - a form of kidney cancer which has spread into her liver and lungs. Although Wilms tumour is not particularly rare, it is rare in teenagers and is unheard of in a teenager with Down syndrome - there is no other recorded case on the planet. This is further complicated by Ella's heart condition which prevents the use of the some of the standard and necessary treatments for Wilms tumour. As you can imagine the uncertainty surrounding her treatment and outcome is a source of great stress and worry for the family.

For 5 months Ella has been receiving treatment away from home in Christchurch with her mum giving up work to support her while the rest of the family remain in Wellington. The first round of chemo made Ella very ill with her ending up in intensive care fighting for her life. She has always been a fighter though - she battled her way through open heart surgery as a baby and has faced many other medical challenges and obstacles in her life.

Ella is a truly amazing girl. Through all of this she is still always smiling and kind, taking it all in her stride and making friends with the medical staff and patients. If you meet her, it is impossible not to be touched by her.

Her journey ahead is long and uncertain. Any help you can give to Ella and her family would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you so much for thinking of our precious girl.

The funds raised will be for ongoing travel and living expenses and for Ella's Mum to be able to be off work indefinitely to care for Ella during her treatment and recovery.