The first part of the lifesaving leukaemia treatment process that Chester schoolgirl Erin Cross is undergoing in America has proved a success, to the delight of the five-year-old’s family.
Little Erin is currently in Seattle for Car T Cell therapy at the city’s Children’s Hospital, which will train her immune system to recognise leukaemia cells and destroy them, and the results from the first stage of her treatment has left her family ‘over the moon’.
Erin’s mum Sarah told The Chronicle: “We have had really good news from the lab. Erin had her T cells harvested last Wednesday and many things can go wrong from that point, so we have been anxiously waiting to hear news from the lab.
“But we have heard from the haematology team who told us that Erin’s T cells are growing well in the lab. It’s a little early to say when they will be ready for release testing but the team will be in touch about the cell growth and projected release. This is really good news - we are over the moon!
“We still have a long way to go but it’s a really good first step,” added Sarah.
Erin’s treatment follows a huge campaign of public support which saw the Chester community rally together in just 48 hours to raise the hundreds of thousands of pounds needed to pay for it.
The process will take four weeks, during which time Erin will stay in Seattle receiving chemotherapy at the hospital to keep her leukaemia at bay, before she then looks to undergo a bone marrow test which will effectively save her life.
Meanwhile, the family have been enjoying exploring Seattle as much as they can when they’re not in hospital.
Sarah said: “We have been made to feel extremely welcome since we arrived in Seattle. Everywhere we go we are met with kindness and support. Yesterday Erin had a visit from four of the Seattle Sounders FC players who were really touched when hearing about Erin’s story so they wanted meet her and brighten up her day.
“They played football with her and had loads of fun together on the grounds on Ronald McDonald House. We also had tea together in the dining room. I couldn’t believe we were sitting there eating pizza with four Sounders players, it was amazing and Erin kept them entertained with her jokes and dancing moves!”
And the Cross family have also been left ‘emotional’ at the kindness of people who do not even know Erin.
“Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely lunch at a restaurant and when we went to pay the bill our waitress said that it had already been paid by the couple that were sitting opposite,” said Sarah.
“They’d also ordered Erin a delicious dessert which she scoffed! We couldn’t believe the kindness, I was so emotional! We didn’t get to thank them either because they had left before we asked to pay our bill.”
In just a few weeks, Erin will turn six years old and her loved ones are inviting members of the public to send birthday cards across the Atlantic to help her celebrate the milestone on August 23.
If you would like to send a birthday card, address it to Erin Cross, Ronald McDonald House 5000, 40th Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98105. It is estimated that any post will take between seven to 10 days to reach Seattle.
