Fresh hope for young cancer patient
The parents of a 12-year-old Queenstown girl who’s been battling cancer for eight months have been overwhelmed by the huge generosity and support pouring their way to help fund urgently needed, expensive international cancer treatment.
Kristin and Hayden Davis and young Meila, going into Year 8 at Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau, have been on a horrifying and heartbreaking journey since June, and with treatment options now running out Meila’s been given the opportunity to go on a new trial which has had great success with adults.
The New York and Sydney-based company, EnGeneIC, has agreed to create a personalised drug for free for Meila, but approval to administer it in New Zealand could take a very long time. “We’re told that’s time we don’t have,” Kristin says. They approached a Sydney oncologist who has agreed to take Meila on but as non-Australian citizens nothing is funded. “We have to pay for the hospital, nurses, doctor, materials and a portion of the drugs, pharmacists and travel, all of which we’re totally prepared to do. We’re trying to sell assets, but things are taking a while, once again time we don’t have."
It’s all going to cost a substantial amount of money, including airfares and accommodation - $50,000 for the first eight weeks of treatment in hospital alone, with Meila possibly needing eight rounds.
A keen young netballer with her school, Meila’s suffering from osteosarcoma, which first presented as a lump above her knee.
The family has had a traumatic time, and Kristin says they were sent away from the doctors so many times with Meila’s cancer undiagnosed. “We had to push and ended up seeing a physio who got Meila in for an ultrasound, so we want to raise awareness among other parents.”
Kristin says she and Hayden have been “very reluctant” to ask for help and have been frantically trying to sell off any assets to fund the treatment themselves, but with NZ oncologists saying time is of the essence they finally agreed. “A beautiful group of friends set up a Givealittle page for us. We’ve been trying to cover everything to date for our beautiful Meila."
The Givealittle Page was only launched on Saturday and in six days had reached over $60,000 with 478 donors which has blown them away.
“We’ve been fighting the urge to do this for eight months, but they’ve told us Meila could be ready to go next week once her visa and hospital paperwork are sorted. The drug company is literally testing her personalised drug now.”
“We feel so very humbled as there are so many people with different needs out there,” she says. “We’ve left no stone unturned so far, no matter what the cost, including genomic profiling reports and lots of second opinions from multiple oncologists. But it’s proved to be worth every cent. A leading American oncologist recommended this EnGeneIC treatment."
Meila with her beloved dog
The family, which includes Meila’s three little brothers, have rented out their home here and moved to Christchurch temporarily to be nearer Christchurch Hospital for Meila.
In a positive for Meila, she just finished a brief round of chemotherapy and was allowed to fly back to Queenstown on Wednesday to start the first day back at school. “She’s been really missing her friends and was desperate to go to school. We moved to Queenstown from Wellington, and we’ve all formed such a tight relationship with the community down there. She’s flown back down on her own and is staying with her friend’s family who’ve been wonderful. We’ve received so much kindness and generosity. It’s been unbelievable.”
Meila’s little brothers, six, four and two, are also keen to get back home.
“To say this is all very heartbreaking is an understatement,” Kristin says. “Our Meila deserves better than this, but this new opportunity has given us fresh hope.”
On Friday night, Meila’s school community held a Night Skate fundraiser for her after the Queenstown Ice Arena generously donated its final night of the skating season, with all takings from the event going to the Meila Givealittle campaign.
To help see: Help Meila’s Battle For A Cure – Givealittle Page
