Family faced with devastating task of self-funding lifesaving treatment for 2-year-old daughter

Bodie McNulty was just 10 months old when her parents noticed a sudden change in her health, they took 6 trips to their local A&E department within a 4-week period. The doctors dismissed there was anything wrong, until their final trip where a locum doctor took the decision to check Bodie’s reflexes. The results of these tests led to an ultrasound on her brain, unfortunately for Bodie an abnormality was found. She was then transferred to Royal Manchester Hospital where they performed an emergency MRI scan. Devastating news ensued, Bodie had a brain tumour which was occupying 20% of her skull.

What happened next was Bodie’s first surgery which took place New Year’s Eve 2016. 9 hours of surgery later and the family were dealt with even more destroying news that surgeons were only able to remove approximately 50% of the tumour. She was then given the official diagnosis of a Grade 3 Anaplastic Posterior Fossa Ependymoma, this lead to Bodie bravely undergoing 12 months of grueling chemotherapy which Bodie battled through and suppressed her medical team’s expectations.

Fast forward to February 2018 and Bodie has gone through a further two surgeries. However, the small remainder of the tumour which is left, is inoperable due to its delicate location within her brain stem. The family were originally eligible for NHS funded Proton Beam therapy however her most recent MRI lead to a new discovery of a mass which had previously gone unnoticed. This was part of the original tumour. More heartbreak followed when the family were told that they were no longer eligible for funding due to the tumour being 3mm bigger than the strict guidelines allowed.

14 months later and the family face a race against time to fundraise £175,000 to pay for the Proton Beam Therapy which is deemed to carry less long-term side effects that the conventional radiotherapy they are now offering Bodie. The Photon Radiotherapy is more invasive in comparison to Proton Beam Therapy which is focused specifically on the tumour missing the nearby healthy tissues.

So far, the family have undertaken a variety of fundraisers from bake sales, head shaves, family fun days, raising awareness online and an ongoing auction. Today their total on just giving sits close to £10,000 with a further £5000 in offline donations. The family are hoping to receive a more accurate quote from a German Therapy Centre in the next week, so they can update the total to reflect the hospital fees, the current total is based on Florida treatment prices.

Moving forward the family face a fight against time to raise the rest of the funds to ensure Bodie gets the best chance of a normal life going forward.