A FAMILY from Aberlady, who have been fundraising for more than a year to ensure their young daughter fighting cancer can make it to New York for a clinical trial to help save her life, have reached their quarter-of-a-million-pound target.

Stephanie Kent and Jamie Gentleman proudly announced that £252,000 had been raised for their three-year-old daughter Flora, who was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma in April last year.

The family shared the exciting news with the East Lothian community, thanking “each and every one of you for helping us raise this money in just one year”.

They said: “We got a call from Solving Kids Cancer a month or so ago letting us know that the clinical trial we are fundraising for is being reduced from five years to three years.

“We knew this would mean our fundraising target would be reduced, but we didn’t know exactly how much would be taken off the total.

“We have made our target!

'Forever thankful'

“When we chose to fundraise for Flora’s treatment a year ago, we were very broken.

“We had just received Flora’s diagnosis and were still coming to terms with the devastation.

“The prospect of fundraising such a huge amount of money to access a trial that could potentially save her life was overwhelming.

“A year on and we’ve been through some of the lowest moments we’ve ever experienced, but our family has also been shown an incredible amount of love and support, and we will forever be thankful for this.

“We are delighted to be able to spend our summer enjoying our time away from hospital, without the pressure of fundraising.

“A huge, huge, huge weight has been lifted!”

'Remain live'

A number of ongoing fundraisers and events have been planned for the summer to raise money for Flora, and her family confirmed it was up to the individual fundraisers to decide if they wished to continue doing so for their daughter.

They added: “Flora’s fundraising page will remain live for donations.

“Any additional money raised will go towards a contingency fund and upgrading Flora’s plane seats.”

Flora, who is autistic, has never been on a plane before and her family said that as her August flight to New York neared, the more they were feeling anxious about her travels.

They added: “Flora has a difficult time sitting still, and understanding why she needs to sit.

“Expecting Flora to sit on a plane for seven-plus hours is a lot to ask.

“She can become overstimulated and uncomfortable in new environments, and does not like confined spaces, and so we expect this experience to be difficult for her.

“We are hoping that having extra space and privacy will make the journey smoother and less stressful for her.”

Any funds left over will remain in Flora’s Solving Kids Cancer account for five years should she need it for further treatment.

After the five years, the money will be donated to Solving Kids Cancer to help fund research into neuroblastoma and to help families like Flora’s.

Go to solvingkidscancer.org.uk/Appeal/flora to donate.