Local Family Raising Funds For Anthony Nolan - Can You Help?

14th August 2014

To Whom It May Concern,

‘Euan's and Arran's Appeal - Making Money for Matches’ for Anthony Nolan

Our two small sons, Euan (7) and Arran (4), have been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Chronic Granulomatous Disorder. This condition means that their bone marrow produces faulty white blood cells, leaving them open to bacterial and fungal infections their bodies are unable to fight. Euan has suffered several infections so far and last year was airlifted to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill in a coma due to abscesses on his brain. Arran has suffered from severe ulcerated colitis due to his body’s inability to handle the bacteria in his own gut. Both boys have spent considerable time in Raigmore and Yorkhill hospitals, through illness and while undergoing tests. We have been advised by doctors that the boys are unlikely to live beyond their teenage years if they don’t have successful bone marrow transplants.

Our family is very lucky in that the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register has identified excellent matches for both our boys and they are awaiting transplants at present, hopefully later this year. Many people with blood cancers or genetic disorders are not so lucky. We are unable to do much to help our boys directly, so we have to rely on medical staff and Anthony Nolan to do this for us. We have therefore decided to do something positive by launching an appeal on behalf of our boys to raise money and awareness to support Anthony Nolan in their work on bone marrow research and matching.

If you wish to know more about the work of Anthony Nolan, you can find information on their website, www.anthonynolan.org.

From our research, we have discovered that the cost of a bone marrow transplant can be up to £150,000, so we are aiming to reach this target with our fundraising.

Currently a charity auction and raffle is being organised, with the auction to be held during a ceilidh in the Norseman Hotel, Wick, on September 27th 2014 and the raffle to be drawn at Christmas time. We are currently looking for items for both these events. If you feel you could support our fundraising by gifting items or services which could be auctioned or raffled, we would be extremely grateful for your assistance. Items can be donated to the bearer of this letter, who also holds a letter from Anthony Nolan verifying that they are indeed raising funds for the charity, or by contacting Lyn Ross (01847 891810 or lynross1[AT]icloud.com) or Jean Gunn (01955 603270 or jean.gunn[AT]yahoo.co.uk)

Thank you so much for your assistance and generosity - we really appreciate your help!

Regards,
Janet, Calum, Euan and Arran Macleod
6 Upper Dounreay, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7RP