Get Frankie to Disney World!

Hello my names Barry, we are helping raise funds to help get Frankie and his 4 year old sister Amelia to Disney World in America.

Frankie’s family had a trip planned for 2026, however with a spiral of events the funds quickly dwindled due to being and back and forth to London.

Myself (Barry) and a group of friends/family are going to be completing the 10K Wolf Run on 14th September 2025.

Please take time to read a statement written by Frankie’s mum Sarah below…

Frankie had a really miserable start to the new year with multiple infections to his gums, which meant repeat visits to the dentist and lots of antibiotics. In mid-February not long after Frankie’s 6th birthday he started to have episodes of sickness, he was so tired, so much so that some days after sleeping 12-13 hours he would ask to go back to bed. We noticed he had lost half a stone in weight since Christmas. We were becoming increasingly concerned for Frankie. I had already taken Frankie to the doctors on a few occasions and was told that his symptoms were likely due to a virus. Our instinct as parents was telling us there was more to his symptoms. Thankfully, I requested blood test and on the 14th March, Frankie was admitted to hospital for assessment. Little did we know that our lives were about to change dramatically.

We were shown to a private room and Frankie had more blood tests which were extremely traumatic for him and awful to witness. We were that the doctors suspected leukaemia as a diagnosis and we were transferred to St George's in the early hours of that morning where he was assessed further.

The next 3-4 days were a blur to say the least. I cannot tell you shear panic we felt. All we wanted to do was take his pain away, trade places with him. He was terrified anytime anyone came near him. It felt like a cruel nightmare that we were all desperate to wake up from.

After being awake constantly for 72 hours we finally had a diagnosis confirmed of acute myeloid leukaemia. We would need to await further results to determine the genetic traits of Frankie’s leukaemia and how best to treat it.

It felt surreal to be told that our little boy had a type of cancer. We played out every scenario in our minds. The thought of losing our little boy was unbearable. On top of this, we were away from our 4-year-old daughter, Amelia.

After Frankie’s diagnosis was confirmed he was put under general anaesthesia for a central line to be inserted into his chest, this would be used to administer his chemo treatment, any transfusions and take blood samples. He also had lumbar puncture to assess the fluid in his spine and around his brain for the presence of leukaemia cells. Again, this was utterly terrifying for us all.

As Frankie was found to have a virus we were awaiting an isolated bed to become available at the Royal Marsden hospital and then we would transfer there.

We initially spent little over 6 weeks in hospital. All Frankie’s chemo cycles are as inpatients due to the type of chemo has to have, along with the regular procedures he has under GA.

The first cycle was brutal with awful side effects, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, hair loss. He suffered with huge ulcers of his mouth, oesophagus, intestines and rectum. Frankie’s weight had reduced even further to 16kgs and so a nasogastric tube was inserted so he could be liquid fed. He suffered with lots of pain from not only the ulcers but also muscle and bone pain. It’s incredibly difficult and painful to watch one of the most precious things in the world to you, suffer like this.

Frankie’s journey is far from over and although you learn to come to terms with the diagnosis, the journey does not get any easier. The disruption it causes to your lives is something I never would have imagined.

Frankie still finds a lot of his treatment scary but has been so unbelievably brave and continues to surprise us daily with his resilience. Despite everything he goes through on a daily basis he never moans.

Frankie’s sister Amelia has also been absolute star. Having to be away from Amelia frequently for long periods has been very difficult and the kids have missed each other terribly.

We as a family are just counting down the days to when life can return to normality and we have our happy, funny, sensitive and loving little boy back fit and healthy.

Thank you for taking the time to read and please dig deep to help give this little boy and his sister a trip of a lifetime!