Teh One Who Knocks
12-01-2015, 01:40 PM
By Anil Dawar - The Express
http://i.imgur.com/D9P0BWV.jpg
Alexander Vinson boarded a transatlantic jet today to Oklahoma so he can get proton beam therapy for his brain tumour.
The tiny boy was only able to get the vital specialist treatment because his parents Raluca and Phil Vinson managed to raise more than £140,000 from generous online well-wishers.
NHS medics had said the toddler would benefit from PBT but refused to fund it.
The radiation treatment, which accurately targets tumours, was successfully used to treat six-year-old Ashya King - the youngster snatched from a Southampton hospital by his parents who took him abroad when he was refused the treatment last year.
Alexander, from Dilton Marsh, near Frome in Wiltshire, has been diagnosed with a rare cancer of the brain and spinal cord - teratoid rhabdoid.
He has already had two eight-hour operations and gruelling chemotherapy treatment at Southampton General Hospital - the same unit where Ashya King was being treated.
The youngster's long road to recovery began this morning when he boarded a plane from Heathrow to Oklahoma with his parents.
Speaking from the plane, Raluca Vinson, 35, said: "This is another big step of the journey.
"It's good that this is finally happening, but we just want to get there and start everything. We don't want to run out of time.
http://i.imgur.com/7t7nbuK.jpg
"We are all OK. We're a bit tired, but Alexander has been looking forward to getting on the plane so he's happy.
"It is scary and exciting all at the same time. This is the best for him, but it's not going to be easy. We are expecting to go to the clinic tomorrow."
Hospital experts told Mrs Vinson that even though Alexander could benefit from PBT he would not get it in the UK because "the prognosis was bad."
The news prompted her and her engineer husband Phil, 41, to launch a fundraising appeal with Kids 'n' Cancer charity on justgiving.com in the hope of raising £150,000.
Little Alexander's plight touched people around the world.
Almost 8,000 well-wishers have since donated and the family raised more than £140,000 in just one month.
The devoted mother added: "I never thought people could be so kind and generous.
"Alexander hasn't got any idea what is going on but we always tell him that everyone wants him to get better. He knows that people around him care.
"I just want him to have a normal life, and to be able to go out and have fun. That is what we are trying to do."
http://i.imgur.com/0RkQtsJ.jpg
The PBT treatment will cost about £80,000 and the extra money will be used for the family's travel expenses and fund future medical help.
Mike Hyman, co-founder of Kids 'n' Cancer charity, who donated £15,000 to the family said: "We are feeling elated to be here. It has been a long journey.
"Alexander's parents have shown strength beyond anything I've ever known, and have retained the belief that they can get their son this vital treatment.
"Every child deserves a chance to live and this is his best chance."
A spokesman for NHS England said: "We have real sympathy with any family facing these illnesses.
"These are really difficult decisions, which is why they are made by a panel of expert clinicians, based on evidence on which patients would benefit from PBT, and clinical consensus on whether going abroad for treatment risks a negative impact on a patient's other health and care needs."
http://i.imgur.com/D9P0BWV.jpg
Alexander Vinson boarded a transatlantic jet today to Oklahoma so he can get proton beam therapy for his brain tumour.
The tiny boy was only able to get the vital specialist treatment because his parents Raluca and Phil Vinson managed to raise more than £140,000 from generous online well-wishers.
NHS medics had said the toddler would benefit from PBT but refused to fund it.
The radiation treatment, which accurately targets tumours, was successfully used to treat six-year-old Ashya King - the youngster snatched from a Southampton hospital by his parents who took him abroad when he was refused the treatment last year.
Alexander, from Dilton Marsh, near Frome in Wiltshire, has been diagnosed with a rare cancer of the brain and spinal cord - teratoid rhabdoid.
He has already had two eight-hour operations and gruelling chemotherapy treatment at Southampton General Hospital - the same unit where Ashya King was being treated.
The youngster's long road to recovery began this morning when he boarded a plane from Heathrow to Oklahoma with his parents.
Speaking from the plane, Raluca Vinson, 35, said: "This is another big step of the journey.
"It's good that this is finally happening, but we just want to get there and start everything. We don't want to run out of time.
http://i.imgur.com/7t7nbuK.jpg
"We are all OK. We're a bit tired, but Alexander has been looking forward to getting on the plane so he's happy.
"It is scary and exciting all at the same time. This is the best for him, but it's not going to be easy. We are expecting to go to the clinic tomorrow."
Hospital experts told Mrs Vinson that even though Alexander could benefit from PBT he would not get it in the UK because "the prognosis was bad."
The news prompted her and her engineer husband Phil, 41, to launch a fundraising appeal with Kids 'n' Cancer charity on justgiving.com in the hope of raising £150,000.
Little Alexander's plight touched people around the world.
Almost 8,000 well-wishers have since donated and the family raised more than £140,000 in just one month.
The devoted mother added: "I never thought people could be so kind and generous.
"Alexander hasn't got any idea what is going on but we always tell him that everyone wants him to get better. He knows that people around him care.
"I just want him to have a normal life, and to be able to go out and have fun. That is what we are trying to do."
http://i.imgur.com/0RkQtsJ.jpg
The PBT treatment will cost about £80,000 and the extra money will be used for the family's travel expenses and fund future medical help.
Mike Hyman, co-founder of Kids 'n' Cancer charity, who donated £15,000 to the family said: "We are feeling elated to be here. It has been a long journey.
"Alexander's parents have shown strength beyond anything I've ever known, and have retained the belief that they can get their son this vital treatment.
"Every child deserves a chance to live and this is his best chance."
A spokesman for NHS England said: "We have real sympathy with any family facing these illnesses.
"These are really difficult decisions, which is why they are made by a panel of expert clinicians, based on evidence on which patients would benefit from PBT, and clinical consensus on whether going abroad for treatment risks a negative impact on a patient's other health and care needs."