People from across the Isle of Wight and beyond have rallied around a 6-year-old girl from Seaview who is fighting against a rare blood cancer – raising more than £85,000 to support her family.
Tula Hunt – a Year-1 pupil at Nettlestone Primary School – was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of childhood leukaemia at St Mary’s Hospital in January and was immediately transferred to the mainland with her family.
She is now receiving specialist treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) at Southampton Children’s Hospital – one of the leading paediatric centres in the UK.
A GoFundMe page titled ‘Tula Hunt’s Fight Against AML Leukemia’ was set up by friends of the family and has so far raised more than 87% of its target amount of £100,000. More than £86,000 has been raised through more than 770 donations.
Being Island residents, Tula’s family are living in family accommodation at the hospital. For her parents, Pete and Jo, that means juggling Tula’s care and that of her 2 younger siblings, the youngest who was born just days after her diagnosis almost 6 weeks ago.
The fundraising appeal was launched with the aim of supporting the family during this time, helping cover the costs of living away from home, travel and allowing them to remain by Tula’s side throughout treatment, resulting in lost earnings as both parents are self-employed.
The response so far has been remarkable, with friends, family and members of the wider community coming together to support them.
Doctors are working to prepare Tula for a vital bone marrow transplant, but the first round of chemotherapy has not been successful, something that happens in around 20% of children treated for AML, which affects around 100 children each year in the UK.
She now faces a more complex path to transplant, and her family say they may need to explore specialist or clinical trials abroad if the next round of treatment does not work – something the funding would also allow them to explore quickly if it becomes necessary.
Pete, Tula’s father, says:
“It’s going to be a massive fight for Tula and we’re keeping everything crossed.”
“It was devastating to hear that Tula’s first round of chemotherapy had not been successful.”
“She has now started a second, very harsh round of treatment, which will be incredibly difficult for her.”
“There’s no sugar-coating it — this is a very aggressive form of cancer. That doesn’t mean there’s no hope, there is, and we’re holding on to that hope.”
Anyone wishing to support Tula and her family can find more at https://www.gofundme.com/f/pete-jo-tula-and-their-family.
