Larne mum’s thanks as community rallies round to help raise funds for one-year-old Pia-Grace

It follows the launch of an appeal by Craigyhill Bonfire Committee to raise funds in aid of one-year-old Pia-Grace.

Over £2600 has been generated so far in online donations towards travel and accommodation costs for the little girl’s family.

Pia-Grace’s mum, Teonna Gamble said that her daughter had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma, with growths around her rib cage and spine, in April. “Pia always seemed to be catching something from her birth; a couple of weeks before her diagnosis she stopped using her legs,” Teonna added.

"I took her to A&E and was told it was likely viral; when she didn’t improve, I returned to A&E, pushed them to find out what was wrong and then got the bad news.

"She was put on a course of chemo which unfortunately was not effective. She finished the first part of an intensive course of chemotherapy last week, which has left her very unwell with infections and needing a feeding tube and blood transfusions.”

Pia’s three big brothers Devlin (11), 10-year-old Brogan and Hunter (3) are being cared for by family members with the little girl being in and out of hospital over the past few months.

“I was surprised and very thankful when the bonfire community contacted me on June 5 and asked if they could do a GoFundMe to help us. I am so grateful to everyone; the level of support has been overwhelming.

"Joanne McConnell has also been raffling a bike and Spar Old Glenarm Road are fundraising plus support from Angel Wishes. It really means so much, the community supporting us.”

Adding to the family’s stress is their ongoing search for suitable housing, with Teonna and her older two children currently living with her mother. “At times Pia needs to be in contact with as little people as possible and this is a struggle,” Teonna said. “My mum has her own health issues and I can’t thank her enough for being there.”

“I just want to again thank all those helping and can’t believe the support from all parts of community.”

Craigyhill Bonfire Committee said the fundraising came about after they had put aside an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest bonfire in the world.

“Once we heard about the story of Pia-Grace we decided without hesitation to abandon the Guinness World Record fundraising and put all our effort into raising funds for Pia-Grace’s family,” said a spokesperson for the group.

"This had a big impact on us, as only about 3-4 months ago one of our builder’s girlfriend lost her wee niece to the same disease at two years old, and we had done some fundraising for Angel Wishes on her behalf. So this was an easy decision for us to make - even though we had prepared for a full year getting this record, we felt that this was a million times more important.”

Community collection buckets and donations from businesses will see the expected total rise to over £3000 in the coming days, organisers said.

To make a donation, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/pia-grace