A six-year-old boy let his sick friend shave off his hair to help raise funds to get her to America for a trial treatment.
A six-year-old boy let his sick friend shave off all his hair so he "could look just like her" and help raise funds to get her to America for a trial treatment.
Lulu DeVries and Oisín Ruskin met on the first day of school in Bedford, England, just a few months before Lulu was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called neuroblastoma. Soon after her diagnosis, it was discovered her cancer had spread to her bones, bone marrow and lymphatic system.
Since then the brave schoolgirl has endured countless rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, an eight-hour surgery, a stem cell harvest and numerous stints in isolation. At present, Lulu is undergoing immunotherapy which will last until May.
Lulu's parents Clare and Rob are hoping she will be given an all-clear remission once her immunotherapy treatment is complete, however, statistics reveal almost 50% of children relapse in the years that follow.
In a bid to reduce the likelihood of relapse, Lulu's family are hoping to get her on a £162,000 Bivalent Vaccine clinical trial at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
"It could be her best chance of remaining cancer-free," they said.
In a video posted on social media, Lulu took an electric razor to Oisín's hair after he asked could he help his best friend.
The youngster managed to raise a whopping £2,849 to help fund his best friends trip to the States which will be added to the main fundraiser to help with costs.
The main campaign has raised £54,274 so far, just a third of the amount needed. Lulu needs £162,000 by July this year
Oisín's mum said the response to his head shave has been 'phenomenal'.
"We can't put into words how honoured we are to have so many people sponsor Oisín. When he said he wanted to do this, I said OK - IF you raise £100. But Oisín is a very determined and ambitious lad. He said - I'll get £2000.....and of course he did! This was his idea, something he wanted to help his friend. The response has been phenomenal."
Lulu's dad Rob is set to do 12 marathons in 12 days alongside numerous fundraising campaigns in hope of reaching their target to get his brave little girl on the cancer vaccine trial later this year.
You can donate to Lulu's JustGiving page HERE.
Kellie Kearney is a Dublin mammy of 4 kids aged 2, 3, 4 and 9 (and she is expecting baby #5 in May). A self-confessed procrastinator and picker-upper of things, Kellie would never turn down a coffee and she loves to travel. You can follow her every day true to life moments on Instagram.