Over £4,000 has been raised to support an Isle of Wight family, whose 1-year-old son Reggie is tackling an auto-immune disease and is set to undergo a bone marrow transplant later this month. In less than 3 weeks’ time, little Reggie is due to have a bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to help in his fight against Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD). The genetic disorder means white blood cells are unable to kill certain types of bacteria and fungi, so Reggie’s immune system doesn’t work properly leaving him highly vulnerable and susceptible to infection – which can turn life-threatening very quickly. A bone marrow transplant at this current time is the only ‘cure’ for CGD. Reggie will have a Hickman line placed through the jugular vein to undergo a harsh round of chemotherapy before he will have his bone marrow transplant. He has already had a feeding tube fitted through his stomach which allows him to be fed directly, in case he suffers symptoms during chemotherapy. The transplant operation on 22nd April will see Reggie remaining in hospital for several months until he is well enough to leave. Ria, Reggie’s mum, has said:
“We are asking for help to support us whilst we support our son through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. “I never like to ask for help but this is our last resort, Reggie needs his dad and I need my partner there for support during such a hard time. “I am asking anybody and everybody to help towards any costs while we support our little boy and am extremely grateful and thankful for anything given”.
To date, thanks to the generous Island community, £4,245 has been raised through GoFundMe. You can support the cause too at https://www.gofundme.com/f/jptjx-support-for-reggie.
