We are Tula's parents, Pete and Jo, and this page exists because our daughter Tula has an extremely rare and aggressive form of leukaemia (AML), and the fight to keep her well is far from over.

In January 2026, Tula was given an emergency evacuation from the Isle of Wight to Southampton with a diagnosis of Acute Myloid Leukaemia. By March she was placed under palliative care with 7 days to live without further treatment. Our baby boy Leo was just a few weeks old. It was a book in itself - for another time. With grit, determination, research, and the publics support we found a regimen of chemotherapy that bridged Tula to an emergency transplant.

In June 2026, Tula was admitted to the Royal Marsden in Sutton for her bone marrow transplant, using donated cord blood, on 11th June. Getting there at all felt like a complete miracle, and not because Tula was well going in. She wasn't. She still had around 4.45% leukaemia in her bone marrow at that point, right at the very edge of what a transplant could even be attempted on. She is an incredible fighter, but she was not a well child. We had a genuinely precious few days at home together as a family just before that next stage began, and we are deeply, deeply grateful for that, and for how far she has come since.

We want to be honest about the reality alongside that gratitude: our specialists told us the transplant carried around a 20% chance of "success", because Tula's genetic disease biology is so rare and aggressive. And we need to say this plainly, because it's the whole reason this page still exists: Tula still has leukaemia. The transplant and everything since has brought it down a long way, but it has not gone away, and she remains under active, ongoing treatment to fight it. She is still very much in the fight, not just being watched for something that might come back. In Tula's case, we cannot afford to simply "wait and see and hope."

Why fundraising continues (and why urgency still matters)

The NHS has been and continues to be extraordinary, and we will always be grateful for the care at Piam Brown (Southampton Children's Hospital) and at the Royal Marsden. But Tula's journey has shown us that options can become time-critical overnight, and many of the additional steps that could improve her odds are not covered by the NHS, or can be difficult to access quickly.

Because of the biology of Tula's AML, we continue to actively pursue post-transplant strategy, including the metabolic side of cancer and how we can support Tula's body and immune system to fight the leukaemia that remains and reduce the risk of it coming back stronger. We remain in conversation with top paediatric AML specialists and researchers in the USA, and we are also working with a highly experienced integrative specialist in America.

Every pound, dollar and Euro (plus many others!) raised so far has been supportive beyond what words can express. We still do not know what the final "bill" of this journey will look like. International trials and treatment pathways can be hugely expensive, and there are also real, ongoing daily costs in simply sustaining a young family of five through continued hospital care, travel, and the need for a parent with Tula at all times.

Why this support matters for the long haul

When Tula was first diagnosed, the shock brought an incredible wave of support, and we felt it every single day. But this isn't a short crisis, it's a long one, and as the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, it becomes normal that not everyone can keep showing up in the same way, through no fault of their own, life carries on for people around us even while it hasn't for us. Jo's family is in America, and my family isn't here on the Isle of Wight with us. We don't have grandparents or relatives nearby to lean on for the everyday practical support a lot of families can take for granted, so where family would usually step in, we have to pay for that support ourselves, for as long as this continues. That's a real and ongoing part of what this fundraiser covers, not just the medical side of things.

This fundraiser supports:

The reality is: the cost of accessing a trial or treatment route in the USA can reach £1,000,000+, and long-term full-time care for a child can also become significant. We don't know whether we will need these pathways, but planning for them is sensible, and being able to act fast could make all the difference.

Thank you for standing with us, for your prayers, and for the practical support through this GoFundMe that has carried us to this point. We are still asking for that miracle to hold, and we are meeting the road ahead with as much strength, love, and clarity as we can.

If you'd like to follow updates on Instagram:

Joanna - @joanna_hunt_

Pete - @pete_hunt_

Thank you - we are forever grateful for supporting us and Tula through this time xx