Fund for little Llandudno girl Abigail tops £20,000

Dec 9 2010 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

Abigail Williams

A FUNDRAISING campaign to send a little girl back to China for life improving treatment has almost reached its target.

A total of £22,000 is needed to pay for four-year old Abigail Williams from Llandudno to go to Beijing for pioneering stem cell treatment which has already improved the quality of her life and this week the fund topped £20,000.

“People have been brilliant, we haven’t held any major fundraising events but there have been lots of smaller ones organised by various people,” said Abigail’s auntie Anne McCarthy.

Abigail and her family returned from China in September after she underwent treatment to try to halt the progress of a deadly disease which had robbed her of her mobility, speech and eyesight.

Her parents Kevin and Christine said the results are better than they dared hope when they flew out on a wing and a prayer after a massive effort to raise £35,000 gave Abigail a chance of a better quality of life.

Abigail was diagnosed in February with the rare Variant Batten’s Disease, for which there is no cure, and as she deteriorated her parents scanned the internet desperately looking for a treatment that might help alleviate the distressing symptoms and prolong her life.

They discovered that doctors at the Tiantan Puhua Hospital in China’s capital were experimenting with a stem cell treatment they believe might help patients like Abigail.

But the cost of the treatment would be £20,000, with another £5,000 to cover the family’s travel and accommodation.

Within days family and friends had rallied round to launch Abigail’s Fund and within four weeks had raised enough money to allow Kevin, Christine, Abigail and her little sister Lauren to fly to China.

The family will be returning to China in June for follow-up treatment.

Meanwhile, the fundraising campaign has continued as although £10,000 was left over from the £35,000 originally raised, another £12,000 is needed to meet treatment and travel costs.

And this week Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin Conwy handed over the proceeds of a sponsored walk which takes the fund to £20,000.

Abigail attended Cylch Meithrin Morfa Rhianedd in Llandudno from the age of two until she left to attend full time education.

“We raised £291 by walking from the bandstand on Llandudno Promenade to the pier. All children were between the ages of six months and four years,” said walk organiser Delyth Jones.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the Abigail Fund should contact Anne McCarthy on 07929 573524 or Doz Langley on 07917 715517.