Help Betsy to See Again & Help to Rehabilitate Her

I am Betsy’s nanny Sharon. In May 2016, our families world was turned upside down when Betsy was diagnosed with a brain tumour, aged just two and a half years old.

The tumour is located centrally behind Betsy’s optic nerve and has resulted in Betsy lost her sight and Betsy was sadly registered blind in 2017.

We were to learn later that the the tumour had not only damaged her optic nerves - causing her sight loss - but it has also damaged her pituitary gland responsible for the hormones in your body. Betsy will need to take life long hormone replacement drugs. Since being diagnosed Betsy at 2 1/2 Betsy has been on continual treatment for her brain tumour - 18 months of gruelling chemo and has now been on a trial treatment for 3 years.

The fundraising has been used so far for a drug called Avastin which we paid for privately in the hope it might help Betsy regain some vision. We also spent money when Betsy’s youngest sister was born in January 2019, to harvest stem cells from the placenta in the hope that stem cell therapy may be an option for Betsy in the future to restore her optic nerves.

People who have donated or organised their own fundraisers have also said that their money could go to something specific including rehabilitation for Betsy. Therefore some funds have gone towards private Braille learning and independent living skills so that Betsy can keep up in a mainstream school. Rehabilitation is expensive!

Our fundraisers are always full

of hope, love and energy and it helps us be positive towards the here and now, as well as the future.

As Betsy has grown up, she has benefited from other charities helping her and her family. She has made her own decision, to support some of these charities and give back to them with her own fundraising ideas. She has sung on her driveway, made things to sell and run a sweet stall!

We also aim to raise awareness for Brain Tumour research and help challenge people’s perceptions regarding disability. Betsy has proved that positive thinking and a positive attitude, really can make anything possible