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Wednesday 25 June 2014

Save a child with Neuroblastoma- support The Ronan Thompson Foundation


Hello, my name is Ella, and this is my blog about the charity ‘The Ronan Thompson Foundation’. First of all, thank you very much for looking at my blog, and I hope you will learn a lot about the charity once you have finished.

Ronan Sean Thompson was born May 12, 2007. After returning from an annual camping trip in Louisiana, Maya Thompson, Ronan’s mother, noticed that Ronan’s eye looked a little lazy.  Ronan’s paediatrician, Dr. Lindsey Campbell, referred them to an ophthalmologist, who dismissed Mrs. Thompson’s concerns automatically. She did not believe there was anything wrong with Ronan, and sent the family home. However, the family were not placated, and Dr. Brendan Cassidy agreed to see Ronan the next day. At first glance at Ronan’s eye that was now bulging outside of its socket Dr. Cassidy immediately knew that there was something wrong. He sent them to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for an MRI. The MRI showed a small mass above the left orbit of Ronan’s eye. The following day, Ronan had a CT scan done, and they found a mass in Ronan’s abdomen. It was on this day, the 12th of August 2010, that Ronan was diagnosed with stage IV Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is the fifth most common cancer in children, but tragically less than half of these children are cured. After months of searching and seeing the best doctors in the area, they were told to take Ronan home and enjoy what precious time they had left with him. Finally they were told to contact Dr. Giselle Sholler and she agreed to accept Ronan into her Nifurtimox trial. A Nifurtimox trial is something that could withhold the disease from worsening for a while, so that they could have more time to find a cure, but Ronan’s little body gave out in his mother’s arms before they could get to San Diego for the treatment.

Although Ronan has sadly past away, he continues to be a huge inspiration for all those that knew him, and even those who didn’t. He was the motivation for Maya Thompson and her husband to start the charity now known as ‘The Ronan Thompson Foundation’. They believe that it is unfair that all of these innocent lives are lost to the disease, and that there is no way to defiantly cure it, and so do I. I hope you do too. It is a non-profit organization, and accepts donations from anywhere in the world. They hope to, eventually, use this money to help find a cure for Neuroblastoma, and move the human race one step closer to beating childhood cancer.

If you would like more information about any of the mentioned articles or any additional information, please visit: //www.theronanthompsonfoundtaion.com/. I would really appreciate it if you could leave a brief response in the comment section answering these questions: What is your name, where you live (Town or city if in the UK, town or city plus country if outside the UK), If you have heard of my charity before reading this blog, do you now feel more informed about my chosen charity and the work that they do, and if you would now support the Ronan Thompson Foundation via donation or spreading the word.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, Ella :)

2 comments:

  1. Ella, this is a fantastic charity that you clearly feel strongly about. This is a very touching story and an extremely important issue and I am pleased that you have taken the time to help this charity and raise awareness as it is very important to do so. This blog is very well written and I know that I am a lot more informed about The Ronan Thompson Foundation and also on Neuroblastoma. Also, thank you for adding in the link as i now know where to go if I wanted to donate money or volunteer. This is over all very impressive and I am proud that you are doing this.

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  2. What you are doing for this charity is really amazing Ella! Well done! My name is Janette Holden and i live in Hennock, Devon. I had not heard of the Ronan Thompson Foundation before reading this blog, and i definately feel more informed on who they are and the work that they do. I may possibly donate a small amount of money to the charity, and will definately tell my friends and family about the work that they do. Very good, excellently written :)

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