Little Ottilie’s world changed forever in a matter of days.

On 8th May, we took Ottie to the doctors due to a small lump on her temple which hadn’t reduced. The doctor urgently referred her to hospital where she was given a CT scan. That’s when our worst nightmare started and our lives changed forever. They found a large and aggressive tumour in Ottilie’s skull, pressing significantly against her brain.

We were blue lighted to Nottingham QMC for further testing, where the devastating diagnosis followed: high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that we learned had already spread to her skull, spine and bone marrow. The odds are not in Ottie's favour, with survival currently sitting between 30-50%. But, there is chance and that’s all we have.

Before even reaching her second birthday, Ottie has already endured five general anaesthetics, surgery to her skull, countless scans and tests, a central line procedure, bone marrow biopsies, hearing tests, eye examinations and heart scans.

On 21st May, she began emergency intensive chemotherapy, the beginning of an incredibly long and gruelling treatment journey.

Over the next 18 months, Ottilie will face further intensive chemotherapy, surgery, blood transfusions, stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Despite everything she has already been through in the past two weeks, she continues to fight with unbelievable strength and a smile, every single day. Anyone that knows Ottilie will tell you what a strong, independent, sassy little character she is!!

Even after all this treatment and the severe side effects that come with it, neuroblastoma carries a frighteningly high relapse rate. If the cancer returns, survival chances drop dramatically.

There is hope in the form of a promising vaccine treatment currently being trialled at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, designed to help prevent neuroblastoma returning. Unfortunately, this treatment is not currently available in the UK, so we are fundraising to give Ottilie access to this and any other potentially life-saving treatments available in the future.

The funds raised will go towards Ottilie’s treatment, travel and medical costs, improving her quality of life, and supporting us as a family as we navigate the hardest fight of our lives.

As a family, asking for help does not come naturally, but we need to know we have done absolutely everything possible to give our beautiful little girl the best chance of survival.

Every donation, no matter how small, truly means the world to us. If any funds raised are not needed for Ottilie’s treatment, they will be donated directly to neuroblastoma research to help other children and families facing this devastating disease.

Thank you for reading, sharing, donating, and standing beside Ottilie and us all in her fight. It is appreciated more than you will ever know.

All our love,

James, Sophie, Archie & Ottilie