Cancer girl 'serious but stable'

Jun 28 2012

A terminally-ill seven-year-old girl who returned to Scotland after specialist treatment in Mexico remains in a serious condition.

Olivia Downie and her family, from Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, flew to the Central American country earlier this month to get her treatment for neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer.

While there, Olivia fell seriously ill and her family was told she would need expensive medical treatment on any flight home. Olivia, her mother Lauren and father Steven touched down in Aberdeen on a medical plane on Wednesday.

The charity Families Against Neuroblastoma (Fan) has been helping the family and set a target of £110,000 to fund their journey back to Scotland. A JustGiving page set up to raise money for their flights and medical costs now shows almost £155,000 has been donated.

Olivia was taken straight to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital on her return from Mexico. A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: "Olivia remains in a serious but stable condition."

At the weekend, online problems with NatWest bank delayed pledged funds from appearing in the charity's account, although Fan said the bank worked all day to resolve the issue. The medical bill for the hospital in Mexico has now been settled.

Fan said on its Facebook page: "Once again, thank you to everyone who has made Olivia's trip home a reality. We couldn't have done it without the generosity and spirit of the public. Lauren and Steven are overwhelmed by the public support, as are we.

"Now is the time for Olivia and her family to all be together and they appreciate that the public will want them to have this time alone and in particular without media intrusion. Thank you again from Olivia and all her family and Families Against Neuroblastoma. We hope we will have gained some new friends and support along the way. Thank you."

Olivia was diagnosed in January 2009 after suffering severe backache and tiredness. Following visits to GPs she was taken to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Fan said Olivia has a tumour the size of a grapefruit in her stomach.