Hello, my name is Zoe Spence, I am a single mother of five beautiful daughters. My middle child, Bonnie-leigh Spence, aged 5 needs your help. 
 
Two days after Bonnie’s 5th birthday, just prior to Christmas Day, she came to me with excruciating pain in her forearm. My first instinct was that Bonnie had broken her arm, it was misshapen, swollen and she was in a considerable amount of pain. I immediately took her to Accident and Emergency at Blackburn hospital where Bonnie had her arm X-rayed, it did not reveal a break. I was informed by the hospital that it was likely to be a bad sprain and to take her home to rest and compress it. 
 
On New Year’s Eve her forearm was still swelling which led me to believe this was something more serious. I returned to A&amp;E and after a second X-ray, the Doctor’s suspected that this was a cyst and offered an ultrasound to investigate further. 
 
The following week Bonnie had the ultrasound done and bloods taken. I was informed that the blood analysis was normal, and that the ultrasound did not show signs of a cyst. It was at this point a local MRI scan was offered on her forearm. 
 
Another week past and Bonnie had the scan done, three days later I received a phone call that would change everything: the swelling on her forearm was actually a tumour. 
 
The hospital referred us to Birmingham hospital for a biopsy which meant another week of waiting and worry. In the weeks preceding Bonnie’s diagnosis, the tumour on her forearm continued to grow. Bonnie lost mobility in her forearm &amp; fingers and was in constant excruciating pain. These weeks were agony, for Bonnie, me, her sisters and my ex-husband Iain, Bonnie’s father, who was fully aware of the situation. 
 
Desperate for answers, I rang the hospital every day about Bonnie’s pain, it was unbearable. The response was the same, ‘sit and wait’. Iain and I agreed to take matters into our own hands and drove her to Newcastle RVI where she was immediately admitted. The staff were shocked at how big Bonnie’s forearm was and how much pain she was in. She was immediately put on morphine and the hospital promptly chased up the much-needed biopsy results. It was at this point after the hospital received the results that we were told that information we had hoped would not be the case, it was cancerous. 
 
Due to the aggressiveness of the cancer, the hospital decided to immediately proceed to treat Bonnie with chemotherapy to try and slow or stop the growth of the tumour. Shortly thereafter, she was taken to theatre to have a PICC Line put in ready for the treatment and to have a whole-body MRI scan. After a short period of waiting, the scan revealed that the cancer had spread from the forearm to both her lungs. 
 
In just 9 weeks, this escalated from a suspected broken arm to terminal cancer with a life expectancy of a year before the inevitable. I cannot put into words how we felt. This news is something no parent should ever have to hear, my world was in pieces. 
 
Due to the size of the tumour, it led to a compression syndrome which kills the muscles and damages nerves and blood vessels. An infection soon followed and attacked her kidneys. The only way forward was to make the decision to amputate Bonnie’s arm. 
 
As mentioned, Bonnie has four sisters, the eldest being 11 and the youngest 2 years As you may appreciate, the logistical nightmare that I am having to deal with is something I have never had to do. I made the difficult decision to split Bonnie’s sisters, the youngest staying with their Auntie and the eldest two with me here in Lancashire. 
 
Having lived with me and her eldest 2 sisters since the day she was born and her younger 2 siblings only knowing being with Bonnie my ultimate goal is to reunite Bonnie and her sisters closer to the hospital in Newcastle on a more permanent basis. The donations received will help me bring these five wonderful children back together to enjoy each other’s sisterly love and company. Bonnie’s sisters are worried but are not yet fully exposed or understand the reality of what has happened, or what has yet to come and as a mother my only wish is to lessen the emotionally impact for all my children as much as I can. 
 
The cost of travelling by train between my home in Lancashire 3 and a half train journey away and Newcastle, arranging temporary accommodation for her eldest sisters and myself whilst visiting Bonnie, on top of the general day to day living costs, e.g. food, bills, rent and so on, are taking a tremendous toll on us as I have been the predominate provider for my children and unfortunately do not hold a UK drivers licence. 
 
The money you donate will ultimately give Bonnie the best memories and moments with her family for whatever time she has remaining. Bonnie does not yet fully understand her circumstances, so to give her those memories of being surrounded by those who love her so dearly and unconditionally to us is invaluable. 
 
I thank you in advance for reading Bonnie’s story, anything you are able to give will be gratefully received. 
 
Zoe

Gillian Salisbury

Claire Glover

Troy Cannell

Charlie Coleman

Anonymous

MR GERARD HOWARD

l b brough

Charlotte Douglas

Ann Horsefield

Donna Malcolm

Rochelle Donlon

Freda Houlton

Isabella Pidgley

A P CAMERON

Kailey Gray

My Beautiful Brave Bonnie

My Beautiful Brave Bonnie

Still £1,822 to go. Help us build momentum.