The mother of three-year-old cancer patient Leah Xuereb is patiently waiting for the paperwork to go through to allow her daughter to fly out to Texas for life-saving treatment.
“I didn’t realise there was so much documentation that had to be processed – everyone is doing their best and I’m sure she will get there,” 33-year-old Zhana Xuereb said.
Ms Xuereb and her husband Jonathan are with their daughter at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where Leah is being treated for a very aggressive form of cancer.
The family are waiting for the go-ahead to fly out to Anderson Cancer Centre in the US – the only hospital in the world that can provide the combination of localised chemotherapy and surgery that Leah needs.
“Yesterday (on Friday), they called me from the US and told me everyone is working on Leah’s case, so I’m just going to take a deep breath,” Ms Xuereb said.
With Leah’s medical case file taking up three bags, Ms Xuereb said she understood that everyone was putting all their effort in her case, even though she admitted it was hard for her and her husband.
Leah’s story came to light after The Times last week carried a report about an online fund-raising campaign, through UK charity Kidsncancer, to raise the €245,000 needed for the treatment.
The initial €11,000 soon became €70,000 as The Times story went viral on social networks. By that evening, the Health Ministry said the family’s application for sponsorship had been accepted.
The little girl was healthy until she turned two but her diagnosis changed several times over the past 15 months, until it was established that she had a yolk-sac tumour.
Still tired after a sleepless night with Leah, Ms Xuereb remained strong even though she admitted she was impatient.
“Leah is looking good even though she is not sleeping at night – she is irritable and crying and saying that it was stinging her,” she said. But on the whole, Leah “is a happy child, she is playing and smiling.
“When they are ready for us, we are here,” Ms Xuereb said.
Hope is the last thing to die.