7 year old with only 2 months to live

[matt]

Perhaps I'm breaking a forum rule here but hope sense prevails...

Anyway... an appeal to divert some of that decadent spending on woodworking gear to a good cause - your workshop will still be here in 2 months time, whereas this little girls days are numbered without help:

http://www.mayaperrinskippen.com/

Also, be shameless like me and spread the word!

 

[Mike.C]

Sad, very sad. Thanks for the link Matt.

She could be any of our daughters, granddaughters.

Cheers

Mike

 

[matt]

My thoughts entirely.

I feel bad wishing away my week trying to get to the weekend. I can't begin to comprehend what it must be like trying to slow the passage of time.

Take a 2 week holiday (we all know how fast those pass!) and that's a quarter of this girls predicted life.

Her parents must feel sick waking up each morning knowing one more day has passed.

Very sad but less so if enough interest is generated to raise the money. I feel confident that it is possible if the story reaches enough people.

 

[Maia28]

I don't know if you are connected with this family Matt, but that is very moving. I hope that they reach their target quickly and that the treatment is successful. I know how much my daughters illnesses have affected our family life, I can't even think what they are going through and time is short.

Andy

 

[harryc]

Hi Matt,

I don't want to sound cruel but you can't highlight one tragic case there is so many people in similar positions and so the question is in this age of the credit crunch who do you decide is more worthy of your hard earned mone

I can not decide so have a direct debit donation to world vision.

Harry

 

[Rich]

Harry, this may sound cynical, and I don.t wish to turn this into a political argument,but, if the government can find 50 BILLION, for a bank, and the lottery fund can find BILLIONS for something which we know we cannot really afford, (olympics),WHY is this little girl found wanting, it's a sad reflection on our values of life.

Rich.

 

[harryc]

Hi Rich,

I agree with you, until recently I would not give to any charities. My view was that as the 4th largest economy in the world how can the government allow people with such urgent illnesses suffer.
With a half decent job selling pharmaceuticals my wife persuaded me that this and any other damn govt of ours are never going to do much outside of putting their snouts in the trough.

So maybe the direct debit is a way of getting rid of my guilt.

 

[Rich]

Harry, I used to have a covenent with the blind people in Africa, but Idiscovered that for every £1.00 I gave, 80p went on admin, so I cancelled it, if I could afford it I would rather travel there and actually put the money in the hands of the people who need it, sadly, even as well fed as we are, I am unable to do so, for I must look after my own first.
Rich.

 

[Maia28]

Harry, I'd actually argue the exact opposite to you. I think that "charity" should be focused on the individual not the cause and that it is much more than just solving the immedeate problem. In fact, I think that we should do this ourselves as it is the basis of a civilised society - we give up our time/money for the good of others rather than expect it to be provided. However, having seen first hand the wste in the NHS, £50000 seems so little. I had typed a long reply about the incompetence of Oxfam in Banda Acha, but went off on one and thought it best not to . These charities also prey on our sense of guilt, if you ever stop a DD with them, they keep coming back for years.

Andy

 

[Jake]

Sadly, it seems like the family are, like so many people who have to deal with incurable diseases, chasing what may be shadows (I spent three years, working my way through uni as a p/t live-in carer for various terminally ill people including several cancer patients - and the quacks that prey on those people with pseudo-cures are sick themselves).

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/conte ... tearea=ETO

 

[matt]

Hi Matt,

I don't want to sound cruel but you can't highlight one tragic case there is so many people in similar positions and so the question is in this age of the credit crunch who do you decide is more worthy of your hard earned mone

I can not decide so have a direct debit donation to world vision.

Harry

Yes I can highlight a particular cause. I'm not naive. And you're not sounding cruel.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I discovered that for every £1.00 I gave, 80p went on admin,

Rich, if that is the case you are giving to the wrong charities. ALL charities have admin costs, but some are more efficient than others. Last year I went to Sierra Leone to work on a children's home project. I went with a charity called Mission Direct, which is run by a mate of mine. He does not lead an affluent life-style, they do not have posh offices. If you donate money and specify a particular project, ALL the money goes to that project. Admin costs are paid out of unspecified income.

Last year, when we have the UKW Bash, there was some money left over. I forget how much, not a fortune, but that went directly to the children's home project on which I worked in SL. I've seen first hand the difference that that kind of work makes to individuals and small communities. The children's home project is now complete, and dozens of orphans now have a brand new home.

The same charity is now redeveloping an old abattoir that is inhabited by disabled people. There is one toilet between them, emptying into an open cess pit. Mission Direct has built a row of proper VIP toilets and is aiming to redevelop the site so that they all have their own bedroom. If you want to contribute, I can put you in touch. Not all charities are the same!
Cheers
Steve

 

[matt]

Sadly, it seems like the family are, like so many people who have to deal with incurable diseases, chasing what may be shadows (I spent three years, working my way through uni as a p/t live-in carer for various terminally ill people including several cancer patients - and the quacks that prey on those people with pseudo-cures are sick themselves).

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/conte ... tearea=ETO

But not always. I've had personal experience of a "quack" that produced results where the medical profession failed.

N'theless, yada yada... We gamble on the lottery etc, why not put a £1 on Maya? (OK, you don't stand to win millions, however, that's not the motivation here...)

 

[Rich]

Thanks for the offer Steve, I already shifted my contributions through other agencies.

regards, Rich.

 

[StevieB]

I do not wish to denigrate the cause in any way here, the aims of the fundraising are sound and I am sure any parent would try and do the same if it was a child of theirs.

My concern is with the treatment proposed. Firstly, it is not a cure. In fact I cannot find out exactly what the treatment is from the website. The cost is also 50k per annum, not a one off fee, which implies some sort of long term treatment. 'Something that targets cancer cells but not normal cells' is not exactly a detailed explanation. Having worked in the field of cancer research I am slightly sceptical about this to say the least. As to the claim that drug companies are squashing pioneering research and treatment and that is why it is not recognised is a load of baloney. No mention of scientific publication relating to the work or detailing outcomes and no mention of proper clinical trials. If it worked as claimed drug companies would be falling over themselves to scoop it up and patent it.

In a best case scenario I would suggest this is a novel, unproven treatment which is licenced in terminal patients only. The cost comes from the medical system in the US not being like the NHS in the UK. Donate to the cause by all means, but do so with the knowledge that you are not going to necessarily save the childs life, but only possibly prolong it - and even that may be within a medical environment rather than living at home.

I would love to be proved wrong, and some will no doubt disagree with my opinion and sentiment. Where hope is offered people tend to see certainty, and that tends to lead to disappointment unfortunately.

Steve.