A FUND-raising appeal has so far raised more than £40,000 to help pay for a 10-year-old Sampford Moor girl’s lifesaving cancer treatment in Spain and Germany.
Harper Pumfrey, who is a pupil in the village primary school, was given just months to live last summer after being diagnosed with childhood diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG),
The inoperable and aggressive tumour attacks a part of the brain stem which controls vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Treatment was not available in the UK, so Harper’s aunty Fern Sibley with Alex Stanbury started an online appeal to help parents Heidi and Lee Pumfrey pay for her to stay in a specialist centre in Spain and a clinic in Germany.
Harper’s medical support was costing £5,000 a week and Ms Sibley said raising funds in a short space of time was proving difficult.
She spent a month in the centre, where she marked her 10th birthday, and the treatment appeared to have gone well with some definite improvements in her energy levels and gross motor skills.
However, Ms Sibley said the doctors were in ‘uncharted territory’ and trying their best to treat Harper while maintaining her comfort level and quality of life.
She said: “The choices are very limited due to the nature of her tumour and her age.
“It does not feel real. The pain we all feel is indescribable.
“Harper is a real country girl who loves horse riding and anything that involves being outdoors.
“She has such a thirst for life and an abundance of friends and family who love her so much.
“All of our lives and hearts have been shattered to learn she has a tumour on the stem of her brain.”
Ms Sibley said Mr and Mrs Pumfrey were able to buy some rehabilitation equipment and carry out adaptations to their home to help look after Harper after her return.
She said: “Harper has gone from being a free spirited, karaoke queen with not a care in the world, playing and bundling her way through life, to effectively being trapped in her body, losing many of the functions that we all take so easily for granted.
“She takes everything in her stride and her family are doing everything they possibly can to keep her comfortable and spirits high, but sadly are having to take things just a day at a time as things can change so quickly.
“It is harder than anyone can even imagine.
“We are immensely grateful for the outpouring and amount of kindness and care that surrounds us.
“It is a reminder that even in the darkest days we are never alone.
“Together, we will continue to do whatever it takes to support Harper on this journey.”
Anybody who wants to support Harper’s appeal can find her Gofundme page here.