Little Charlotte's Fight against Cancer

A close friend of mine Danielle, and her husband Nick have been fighting the biggest fight for their littlest girl Charlotte, who is their youngest daughter, and baby sister to Natalie and Chelsea. Charlotte was born on 9th September 2016 and has brought nothing but joy and happiness to the world since her arrival, which in fact was not an easy entrance into the world. She almost didn't make it, and was in the NICU for sometime. Charlotte, recently turned 3 this month, but became ill in January of this year complaining of sore legs and was limping. Several GP's said it was growing pains amongst many other things such as hip dysplasia. Several x-rays and ultrasounds were done, but nothing showed any signs of what was to come. Then Charlotte stopped eating, and she stopped playing. She was the happiest little 2 year old you could ever meet, so there had to be something wrong. Her mum never stopped trying to get answers. Two weeks later Charlotte collapsed at home, and the Paediatrician asked them to come straight in. She was taken straight to hospital where she was then transferred immediately to Westmead Children's Hospital. Charlotte had her first MRI on 12th April where they found 3 tumours on the brain and 2 tumours on the spine. Charlotte had emergency surgery to remove some of the spinal tumour for biopsy and to relieve some pressure off the nerves. Charlotte was sadly diagnosed with Embryonal Tumour with Multilayered Rosettes. ETMR affects the central nervous system (CNS). It combines features of Neuroblastoma and Ependymoblastoma. This tumour occurs mostly in the first five years of a child's life and the prognosis is not positive.  Danielle and Nick do not know how long they have left with little Charlotte and want to try to give her the best of everything while they still can. They are not able to work due to spending most of their time at the hospital with Charlotte, and Danielle's parents are not working due to caring for the older two siblings, Natalie and Chelsea, who are also only young. They are back and forth from the mountains to Westmead daily and obviously money is tight for this family re having to pay for accommodation and parking at the hospital. They are not people who would ask for help, they are usually the ones helping everyone else, so now they need our help.  Charlotte needs a wheelchair, as she is not able to walk due to the tumours on her spine. This would make things a whole lot easier if they could get her mobile at home or if they leave the hospital or home. There may be the possibility of further surgeries or having to go overseas, but obviously it all costs money. The family would like to be able to take charlotte somewhere special on a holiday if she is well enough so they can give her as many beautiful experiences and memories as possible. Sadly they do not know how long her fight will last.  Please help me give this beautiful family a chance to make some amazing and precious memories with their little girl Charlotte, and take the pressure of them financially so that they don't have the burden of worrying about how they will get through the days ahead. No matter how big or small the donation, it will be greatly appreciated more than you know by this beautiful young family. Thank you so much for reading Charlotte's journey. But mostly, thank you for helping make a difference in this little girls journey so that her family can make the most of the time they have left with her. Karen xox