Derry girl believed to have rare blood disorder hopes to meet 'lifelong friend' Minnie Mouse

The Greysteel girl is currently a patient in the Royal Children’s Hospital in Belfast. where doctors believe she has a blood disorder called Aplastic Anemia.

In recent weeks, Phoebe has undergone numerous tests and procedures that would be tough for an adult to endure, never mind a child.

In a bid to give Phoebe something positive to look forward to, her mum Katherine made a promise to take her to meet her adored Minnie Mouse in Disneyworld, Florida.

The community, keen to support Phoebe and her family, has rallied in behind them and a fundraiser has been set up to help Phoebe’s dream come true.

Speaking to the Journal, Katherine said they have been ‘so unbelievably grateful’ for the support received so far and told how she wants to give her ‘amazing’ daughter something positive to hold on to.

Phoebe and her family have been through an extremely tough time and Katherine is also recovering from bowel cancer.

Phoebe had only recently started secondary school in St Mary’s in Limavady when it became clear she was gravely ill.

She was initially diagnosed with Leukemia and transferred to hospital in Belfast, where doctors there told Katherine they, instead, suspected Aplastic Anemia.

The rare blood disorder is caused by the failure of the bone marrow to produce enough of all three figures of blood cells – red, white and platelets.

Without these cells, people’s ability to function diminishes significantly. They may bleed excessively, bruise, attract life-threatening infections and suffer from extreme fatigue.

Some of Phoebe’s symptoms are extreme fatigue and a complete lack of energy

Katherine told how Phoebe first began to experience bruising on her legs.

"But, we had recently got a new puppy, who Phoebe was immediately attached to, so we put the bruises down to the puppy jumping on her.”

However, bruises then began to appear in ‘strange places’ and it was thought Phoebe could be low in iron.

Katherine changed Phoebe’s diet, but, bruises then began to appear around Phoebe’s neck after she tried on her new school shirts.

“I knew that wasn’t right and was worried, so I took her to the GP. She had bloods done around 4.30pm and by 8.30pm the out-of-hours doctor rang us and said we had to get Phoebe to hospital, as slowly and gently as we could.”

It was believed at that stage that Phoebe had leukemia and she was referred to hospital in Belfast. There. doctors said they believed she has, instead, aplastic anaemia. Phoebe is still undergoing tests to fully confirm the diagnosis, which will take eight weeks to complete.

"She still has some blood tests results to get back, but if it is aplastic anemia, which they think it is, then they believe it’s a type called ‘proper aplastic anemia’ and she will need a bone marrow transplant’.

"Her bone marrow has more or less given up, her blood’s remain dangerously low and she is not producing any of the three elements of the blood.

" To give you an example of her blood counts currently her haemoglobin which is typically 140 and hers is 40. Her white cells which can range from 100-400 were sitting at 14!”

In the meantime Phoebe has been placed on the transplant list and her brother is also being tested to confirm if he is a match.

Phoebe will need blood and palate transfusions twice a week until a donor is found.

“Her immunity is severely compromised so she cannot attend school, be around anyone unwell or large groups of more than two or three.

As well as being physically tough, this is also very mentally hard on Phoebe and this is why Katherine wanted to give her the trip to Disneyworld.

"She was getting a cannula in and I was trying to distract her. I was telling her how I’d do up her room – all these different things and then I mentioned Minnie Mouse. She has loved Minnie Mouse all of her 11 years and has a teddy Minnie that’s been with her through everything.

"When I mentioned Minnie to Phoebe, it was the first thing that really calmed her. So, I said I would take her to see Minnie in Disneyworld when she got better. I thought: ‘I need to get her to America’.

" I’m just free of cancer myself and we have no way of financially doing it. We’re a family of five – Phoebe has two brothers and we just can’t financially do it.

She added: “But, it’s the one constant distraction we use from this current situation. It’s the one topic that really helps Phoebe be distracted from painful procedures, missing her friends and a very scary, serious illness.

"I put up the fundraiser to see if maybe we could raise enough for flights and as a distraction for Phoebe. The support has been amazing. Phoebe sits every night and reads every single name and message on there. We are so thankful for the kindness and generosity of people – she feels every bit of it. We just can’t express how grateful we are.”

Katherine also praised the hospital and the charities and groups that have been supporting them. While aplastic anemia is not cancer, it mimics it, and Phoebe is currently in the haematology ward in the Oncology department. Charities such as BPositive have given their support and again, she and her family are ‘so grateful’.

Phoebe is sad to be missing school and her ‘lovely’ friends, who have been in constant contact and the hospital and school have arranged for a ‘virtual robot’ (which allows absent children to have a virtual presence in the classroom).

If you’d like to donate to the fundraiser, log on to ‘Please help Phoebe meet Minnie, her lifelong friend.’ on Go Fund Me.