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Ruby Owen: Appeal to raise £250,000 to pay for pioneering treatment to save her life
A toddler with a life-threatening brain tumour desperately needs to travel to America to receive urgent treatment.
Family and friends of two-year-old Ruby Owen have launched a campaign to raise £250,000 to pay for pioneering treatment in the US.
Recent video of Ruby - having a rare day out between chemo
A Valentine’s charity disco was held at Kidsgrove Town Hall on Saturday in support of the youngster.
Donna Downs who co-hosted the event told Staffslive: “it went really well, about 200 people turned up, they’re a very popular family and have lots of supportive friends.”
“We managed to raise £3,527 for little Ruby, and we’re still receiving donations from the site we set up, obviously we still need to raise a lot more to reach the target.”
The Sentinel reported in July last year that Ruby was receiving chemotherapy at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, in Liverpool. Surgeons managed to remove 95% of the tumour but now she needs to travel to the States to remove the rest.
Ruby’s Parents, Martin and Rachel Owen, from Kidsgrove, have considered selling all their possessions to pay for the proton therapy treatment that will save their daughter’s life.
Dad Martin, 38 said: “I would sell my house but that still wouldn’t get us the money we need for the treatment and we would be left homeless.”
He added: “Ruby has got so much to give, if this is the only option left, then we will do anything to find the money we need to send her to America.”
The national children’s charity Caudwell Children has offered to help co-ordinate some of the fundraising while Martin and Rachel care for Ruby and her sister, Charlotte, 10.
Trudi Beswick, chief executive of Caudwell Children, said: “We are currently reviewing the Owen’s application to see if we can make a donation towards the appeal, but that can take a little bit of time so we are helping in any way we can in the meantime.
“The best way to help is to take the numerous calls and emails from well wishers who want to support this desperate appeal.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Ruby’s Appeal can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/rubyowen. Alternatively post a cheque, payable to Caudwell Children, to Ruby’s Appeal c/o Caudwell Children, Minton Hollins Building, Shelton Old Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7RY.
Arfticle written by Staffs Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4jtaqbVpEo
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Comments
15 comments postedJust wanted to say Gordy, after watching those videos what a brave and beautiful little girl your Niece is. After all she's been through, she really playful and bright.
I emptied money from my Skybet account that was left in from the last grand national. It wasn't much, but if you get enough people giving, and remember to click gift aid, I hope it can soon mount up. It seems an incredible amount of money to raise.
Target: £250,000.00
Raised so far: £17,668.09
Looking at the messages on the just giving page www.justgiving.com/rubyowen people are raising money at work an school, donating out of their own pocket.
Please give all you can.......
As of 11:30 16th Feb 2010 the appeal stands at 14%.
Target: £250,000.00
Raised so far: £35,450.09
Total raised online:
£22,185.09
Offline donations:
£13,265.00
Gift Aid plus supplement:
£5,767.41
The Ruby Needs your help button has also been placed on a number of sites around the area, but if it's not on yours heres the code to add it to your website.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Race-time-save-brave-Ruby/arti...
A fund raising gig is being held at The Full Moon,Newcastle,Staffs on Thurs,Feb 25th....local artistes Sharron,Porl Hancock,Longwave & The Cartellos....This event runs from 8.30pm til 11.30pm
JOHN, hanley
commented on 18-Feb-2010 18:14
Just a quick thanks and an update as of today 19th Feb
Ruby has another round of Chemotherapy booked for next week at Alderhey in Liverpool, we beleive after this she will have a 6-10 week course of intense chemotherapy in which she will be in isolation
We all are extremely grateful to all those who have donated and given time to organise events in aid of Ruby, we hope that the fund will at least give her a chance of getting the treatment available, and therefore giving her a greater chance of survival.
Me and Mrs Popeye saw her tuesday and she ran us ragged, she is such a happy playful and bossy little girl and just gets on with her life as though nothing is to much trouble...
Once again thanks to all and i do hope that we can attain our target sooner rather than later.
Gordy
Another update for you all.
Ruby had her chemotherapy at Alderhey on Friday and came home monday, as of last night she was ok and happy, no sickness yet!!!
We just played hiding Goofy, Mickey and Minnie around the house crawling all over, i am to old to crawl around surely......
She has been accepted as a patient by an institue in Indianappolis and me and her dad are going out there on Sunday to have a meeting with the specialists and to visit the institute to see what where when how etc etc, there are so many questions and i think not enough answers..
Thanks to all for support
Gordy
Gordy and family
Thanks for the update, fantastic news that Ruby has been accepted as a patient, lets hope this is the start of the continuation of fantastic news. Is such a shame that there is nowhere in the UK where this treatment is available.
Glad to see that you are nearly at 25% of the target needed, would be good if you can hit that before the weekend.
Look forward to the updates.
Just been on Ruby's Just Giving page, and the latest update is
Target: £250,000.00
Raised so far: £100,195.07
40% the way there
Keep up the good work and the fundraising events that people are organising,
Gordon - how did you get on on your recent trip?
Just an update on Ruby.
Before she gets to America Ruby has a very very difficult period ahead of her. On the 7th April she is booked in at Alderhey Hospital to start her intense chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant treatment, this involves a intense 6-9 day period where she has chemotherapy solid for 9 days and will be in isolation for approx 6-8 or so weeks, this will be a very difficult period for all involved, as this will be the last chemotherapy Ruby can have.
Well America was an experience itself, the institute MPRI in Bloomington Indiana was something itself to see, a £100 facility less than half a mile from the University football stadium, part of the university not attached to a hospital at all!!!!
http://www.mpri.org/
The meeting itself went very well and Mr Chang explained the process very well,
Ruby will have a CT scan and an MRI scan upon arrival and all her previous MRI’s and CT scans information will be fed into a computer, this will then generate over a 2-3week period a treatment plan for the best possible and least invasive treatment.
Ruby will have her own foam chair moulded to her body and a plastic mask of her face and head made, she will have 2 ball bearings inserted in her skull for reference points for the treatment.
The next step is the treatment itself, Ruby will be treated as an outpatient, she will have a general anesthetic, in her seat and the mask placed onto her head then the mask is bolted to the table, then the photon fired for approx 15 seconds, then back round and ruby allowed to go home.
Ruby will have 33 of these treatments on a Monday to Friday basis so at least 10 weeks spent in America for treatment and rehabillitation.
As of last night she is herself very well if not a bit bossy as I suppose she should be given her age and is getting close to walking, she is such bright happy girl and interacts with all of us…
Again thanks to all for their help and support, it really is appreciated.
Gordy
Hi Gordon,
Just a thought- any idea how much each one of the 33 round of targetted photon treatments costs. Just thinking of a way we can raise a specific amount of funds at the practice. Knowing an idea of cost for one of the photon treatments would be a way of people latching onto the concept of how much it costs, and also (maybe) a reasonable target for an individual or company to raise. We'll certainly try!
Sorry James fr not replying sooner i menat to but we have been very focused on getting Ruby as strong as possible for the treatment she started today, as well as trying to keep her as happy as possible as we will not be able to visit her properly for 6-8 weeks fom this weekend.
We have looked at the figures and we estimate 1 treatment would cost in thr region of £5000, this covers the photon treatment aneasthetic and the mask and chair construction.
i will post again in the next few days once i have more information and hopefully i may be able to see and speak to her over the next few days, she loves tormenting me and my wife.
Thanks to all who have helped so far and for those who have arranged fundraising in the future.
Gordy
Hiya Gordy, I just hope these 8 weeks pass quickly for Ruby, it can't be the best time for her.
I notice that Ruby's appeal fund has jumped by about 10% this week, she's now got something like 57% (Just giving is down at the min, so that figure is a little inaccurate). Is that money raised from the Stoke match, one single person, or a number of things?
Can you Help?
Ruby is a local girl, and lots of people have been putting a lot of hard work in raising money. Most have never met her, they are just doing what they can. You don't have to be rich to help, you just have to give a tiny bit of your time to help.
Both my Wife and my Mum, through their works, Mrs WM, Britannia Alsager and my Mum Pop in hair design, Whitehill, Kidsgrove have both raised £110 each by raffling easter eggs, and a basket of lady type smellies.
Times getting short now for fund raising, so if anyone can do a little something, then now is the time.
Well another few days since i have updated you and after a few visits and a telling off from a nurse on Monday night.
Ruby is moving as of now into the isolation at Alderhey Hospital, she has to have a bath, clean clothes, new toys, food or cleaned tins anything that she takes in has to be either new in selophane or have been completely wiped and clean of any germs whatsoever.
Mum and Dad have to have a shower and have fresh clothes everytime they go into the unit, all of us are not allowed into the unit to see her during this process, it will be possible 6 - 8 weeks, this will be a very testing time for us all out of here nevermind what Ruby, Mum and Dad have to endure.
Ruby was happy and lively on Monday evening full of mischief, we played hide and seek around the ward and up and down the corridors and made so much noise i thought we would have been kicked out, but to hear her laugh so much and from the belly makes it all worth while.
She is still in good spirits although the effects of the chemotherapy are starting to take hold, she has some sickness starting and getting more lethargic.
I will try to post when news is available, thanks for your ongoing support and all your efforts they are greatly appreciated by all of us.
Gordy
Please wish Ruby well Gordy I hope she doesn't suffer too much through the current treatment she is having. I chucked a couple of quid in the collection bucket at the chip shop in Butt Lane and the guy infront of me put a tenner in so I hope that all these bits and pieces of money added together help Ruby well on her way to America... please keep us up to date with the latest news!
Zoey
Just a quick note to let you know that Ruby is now in the States with her family and shortly start the final leg of her treatment.
Best wishes to Ruby, and I hope this treatment is kinder to you than the last one.
Gordy sent a video over the other day, of Ruby learning to walk again, where her full character was on display, of courage, determination and most importantly fun.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruby-Owen-2-year-old-girl-with-a-brain-tum...
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