Happily Ever Annabel

19/06/2026

Annabel had a fantastic overnight stay at the red panda lodge at West Midlands Safari Park this week thanks to Make-A-Wish UK.

The lodge looks straight into the red panda enclosure from every room. And if you know how shy these little guys are normally - hiding high in the trees where you can barely see them - you'll know this was such a rare opportunity for Annabel to see them up closer.

We also paid for her to have a giraffe feeding experience with a wonderful lady called Carolyn who taught us all about them.

Annabel suggested the next one born is called Ophelia or Oban after her school friend, as all the animals born there this year will have names starting with O. Fingers crossed!

17/05/2026

It’s 10:48pm on May 16th 2021. While the world outside is dark and quiet, the hospital ward is brighter than anything. Machines humming. Chemo dripping. Alarms sounding through the night.

No food. No proper drink. No sleep in sight. Every 40 minutes, catching vomit or wee in a bowl. Holding your child’s hand while they try to rest. Watching poison enter their body in the hope it saves their life.

And somehow… you are still expected to function as normal. To answer emails. To pay bills. To smile at people. To carry on as if your world is not collapsing inside four hospital walls.

This was my life for 10 months. Not one difficult night. Not one isolated moment. Ten months of hospital wards, fear, exhaustion, uncertainty and trying to survive while your child fights for theirs.

This was the reality for so many parents. Day after day. Night after night. Barely any support. Barely any recognition. Just survival.

People often ask why we campaign so hard for Hugh’s Law and better mental health support for families of seriously ill children. Because this is why. ❤️

www.hughslaw.uk

27/04/2026

We're waiting for a template letter from SKC for people to send to their MP. We'll share it here with you when we can.

Our own MP, the wonderful Mark Ferguson, is already on this and doing his damnedest to help.

Let's not allow the door that opened for Annabel, close behind her. Other children need this medicine.

We have shared an important update about DFMO (Iwilfin / eflornithine) and UK access on our website.

You can read this update at www.solvingkidscancer.org.uk/dfmo-update-2026

We remain committed to keeping families informed with accurate updates as soon as we have them, and to advocating as strongly as we can for UK children and families.

We will continue to share updates directly with families as well as keeping this statement up to date on our website as any new information becomes available.

Our Family Support Team is here to listen and to support you emotionally and practically. You can contact the team by telephone on 0207 284 0800 or email: [email protected].

24/04/2026

Shocked and saddened to discover today that DFMO - the drug that we fought to make available for Annabel - is no longer being made available for new patients. And that international access routes are also being limited.

New cases will be considered individually and families are no longer guaranteed free NHS access to this potentially life-saving drug.

We are super sad that the door we helped crack open has closed behind us.

Until we experienced childhood cancer, we assumed it was top priority for research and treatment. But it is so underfunded and underprioritized, leaving so many little lives at risk.

If you'd like to help, you can write to your MP. We'll try to get a template letter from one of the amazing charities dedicated to neuroblastoma in the UK Solving Kids' Cancer and Neuroblastoma UK