♥Robyn E Brooks ♥ ♥27/11/1995 - 17/3/2004♥
Robyn's storyRobyns tragic story began when she was three-and-a-half when she was rushed to hospital with suspected appendicitis in August 1999. But the news doctors had for parents Garry and Karen was far worse - Robyn had the rare form of cancer called Neuroblastoma.
After nearly a year of intensive treatment she was allowed home but a year later the disease came back and this time doctors in the UK told Garry and Karen there could be no cure.
However the brave couple refused to give up hope and scoured the internet to find hospitals which could offer alternative treatments. They found the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, one of the world's leading cancer treatment and research centres, where doctors were pioneering new form of treatment called 3f8 Antibody Therapy. Finding a hospital that could treat Robyn was one thing, finding the hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for the therapy was another
In August 2001 they launched the Robyn Brooks Appeal to raise money. At first a website was set up and friends did collections and raffles, but the appeal quickly caught the public's imagination and soon people all over the country were raising money for her.
Over the next two years they experienced a roller-coaster ride of emotions during Robyn's treatment. Harsh chemotherapy got rid of the tumours, then she had a major operation to remove lymph nodes from her chest followed by a stem cell transplant.
At times she hovered between life and death, but each time she bounced back and by March 2003 she was well enough to start the antibody therapy that Mum and Dad hoped could lead to a permanent cure.
Back in Rochdale, Robyn's home town, her uncle Brian Brooks was leading the fundraising campaign which eventually raised almost £650,000. Even families who had ill children themselves were supporting Robyn as she became a symbol of hope battling against almost insurmountable odds.Atomic Kitten became good friends of the family and when they visited Robyn in New York national newspapers highlighted Robyn's plight and the 'Trevor McDonald Tonight Show' flew to the United States to film a documentary on her. The treatment was going well and it seemed Robyn could be on the road to recovery. But in September Garry and Karen were told the shattering news that the cancer had come back.
More treatment followed which got rid of the tumours in time for Robyn to celebrate her eighth birthday, with a grandparents and other family flying out to be with her. The family began the new year with renewed hope, but in February the Neuroblastoma came back and this time Robyn could fight no more. Mum and Dad were with her when she died on 17 March, and her home town was brought to a standstill by her funeral two weeks later although Robyn has died her name still liveson, helping other children with cancer.