At just three years old, Adeline Davidson should be learning new words, chasing toys across the floor, and growing up alongside her younger siblings. Instead, her life has become a desperate race against time — one that depends entirely on whether a stranger somewhere is willing to step forward and save her.
Adeline has been battling a rare blood cancer called myelodysplasia since February 2019. It is so uncommon that it affects only around one in 250,000 children. The disease attacks the bone marrow, slowly robbing the body of its ability to produce healthy blood cells. Without a bone marrow transplant, doctors warn that Adeline’s condition could transform into acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive cancer her small body would not survive.
For Adeline and her family, this is not a distant risk. It is a daily reality.
“Even a cold could mean Adeline could die,” says her mum, Steph, 26. “That’s how fragile she is. It’s terrifying.”
The little girl, from Inverness, lives under constant threat of infection. Ordinary childhood illnesses — the kind most parents barely worry about — could be fatal for her. Every cough, every fever, every change in her behaviour sends waves of fear through her family.
Recently, that fear became overwhelming.
Adeline was rushed to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow after doctors suspected she may be developing sepsis — a life-threatening response to infection. Under normal circumstances, Steph, Adeline’s dad Jordan, 28, and their one-year-old twins, Jude and Josie, would make the journey together. But COVID restrictions meant Steph had to travel alone with her sick daughter, leaving the rest of her family behind.
“It’s so hard doing it on your own,” Steph says. “But you do it because you have no choice.”
What makes Adeline’s situation even more heartbreaking is that hope had once been in reach.
She had a potential bone marrow match on the donor register — the person who could give her the transplant she desperately needs. But devastatingly, that final match is no longer able to donate.
With that news, Adeline’s chances narrowed dramatically.
“When I got the phone call, I thought they were giving us a date for the transplant,” Steph says. “Instead, they told us the match was gone. It was absolutely devastating. This sets us back massively.”
Doctors had previously told the family that Adeline would not be able to wait longer than a year for a transplant. Now, with no suitable donor lined up, time feels more precious than ever.
“This really is life or death,” Steph says. “There’s no exaggeration in that.”
Desperate and running out of options, Steph turned to social media with a plea no parent should ever have to make.
“We can’t beg or plead enough,” she wrote. “Please sign up to become a stem cell or bone marrow donor.”
Behind those words is a mother watching her child grow weaker while knowing that the cure exists — it just hasn’t reached them yet.
Bone marrow and stem cell donation is often misunderstood. Many people assume it is painful or risky, when in reality most donations involve a simple blood-like procedure. For Adeline, the right donor could mean a future — birthdays, school days, and a chance to grow up alongside her siblings.
Without it, her parents are forced to live in a constant state of fear.
“You wake up every day wondering if today will be the day she gets sick,” Steph says. “You don’t sleep properly. You don’t relax. You’re always waiting for something to go wrong.”
Despite everything, Adeline continues to fight with the quiet courage only a child can show. Photos show her smiling beside her mum, unaware of how serious her condition is or how urgently she needs help.
Her parents hold on to hope — not because it is easy, but because it is the only thing they have left.
“There is someone out there who can save her,” Steph says. “We just need them to come forward.”
Adeline’s story is not just about illness. It is about time running out, about a family clinging to hope, and about the power one person can have to change — or save — a life.
For now, her parents wait. And they ask the world to listen.
Because somewhere, the match Adeline needs could be reading this — and choosing to give her the chance to live.
Lenka’s Fight for Life: A Little Girl’s Courage Against Impossible Odds
From the moment Lenka was born on August 1, 2012, she filled our lives with light. She was a happy, curious little girl, always smiling, always moving, always eager to explore the world around her. She loved to sing, to play, to laugh loudly and freely. Every day with her felt like a small miracle, and like any parent, I believed her future would be simple and bright—full of school days, friendships, scraped knees, and ordinary childhood dreams.
I never imagined how fragile that future truly was.
Our lives changed forever during what was supposed to be a routine ophthalmology appointment. We walked into the clinic expecting reassurance. Instead, the doctor looked at us with a seriousness that froze my heart and spoke words no parent is ever prepared to hear: Lenka had a malignant eye tumor.
In that instant, the world stopped.
Fear, shock, and helplessness consumed me. How could this be happening to my baby? She was still so small, still learning the world. Within days, we were transferred to the oncology ward at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw. Lenka was barely an infant when her fight for life began.
Chemotherapy. Surgeries. Endless hospital corridors. Beeping machines. Sleepless nights.
Despite her age, Lenka endured everything with a courage that left doctors and nurses in awe. She cried, of course—she was a child—but she also smiled through pain, reached for our hands, and trusted us completely, even when we didn’t know how to explain what was happening to her body.
As if cancer were not enough, we soon learned Lenka was also suffering from a rare genetic condition called Crouzon syndrome, which causes the skull to grow abnormally. Without urgent intervention, her brain would not have enough space to grow, leading to dangerous pressure, facial deformities, vision loss, and potentially fatal complications.
At just seven months old, Lenka underwent her first life-saving surgery—a ventriculoperitoneal shunt—to relieve dangerously high intracranial pressure. Five months later, she needed another emergency operation to treat cerebral edema. Each time, we handed our tiny child over to surgeons, praying she would wake up again.
But the challenges kept coming.
Despite receiving the best care available in Poland, Lenka continued to suffer from severe headaches, vomiting, balance problems, and vision disturbances. Further examinations revealed a Chiari malformation—a condition where part of the brain is pushed down into the spinal canal. The pressure was causing excruciating pain and threatening permanent neurological damage.
Lenka had already faced more pain before kindergarten than most people face in a lifetime.
Eventually, we were introduced to Dr. Fearon, a world-renowned specialist in Dallas with decades of experience treating children with complex craniofacial conditions. Under his care, Lenka underwent another critical surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain and spinal cord. That operation saved her life once again. Slowly, she began to breathe easier. She regained strength. She kept going.
And through it all, Lenka remained Lenka.
She learned to help herself. She understood more than any child should have to understand. She showed empathy, patience, and kindness far beyond her years. Even in pain, she smiled at nurses. Even when exhausted, she found the strength to comfort others.
Now, at just six years old, Lenka faces the most important surgery of her life: Le Fort III reconstruction. This complex operation will correct her facial structure, prevent life-threatening sleep apnea, protect her vision from permanent damage, and give her a chance to live a more normal life.
But this surgery must be performed by the world’s top specialists—and the cost is overwhelming. More than $80,000, not including travel, medical transport, rehabilitation, and post-operative care. Despite doing everything we can, these costs are beyond our reach.
As her mother, there is nothing more painful than knowing what your child needs to survive—and not knowing how to pay for it.
Every day is filled with fear and hope. Fear of what could happen if we fail. Hope that kindness still exists in the world. Hope that Lenka’s story will reach someone who can help.
Lenka has already beaten impossible odds. She has survived cancer. She has endured surgeries that most adults would not survive. She has shown strength, grace, and courage beyond her years.
She is our miracle. Our fighter. Our reason to keep believing.
Now, we are asking for help—not because we want to, but because we must. Every donation, every share, every act of kindness brings Lenka closer to a future without constant pain and fear. A future where she can grow, learn, play, and dream like every child deserves.
Please help us give Lenka the chance to live.
Her light is too bright to fade now. 💛
Anastasia Is Only Five: A Family’s Fight Against a Deadly Cancer
As parents, we never imagined that one day we would be writing these words, asking strangers for help to save our child. We believed our lives would follow the simple, beautiful path that most families dream of—watching our daughter grow, go to school, make friends, and discover who she wanted to become. Instead, we are now living inside every parent’s worst nightmare.
Our daughter Anastasia is only five years old.
She was a healthy, joyful little girl, full of laughter and energy. She loved running through the house, playing with her siblings, and turning ordinary moments into adventures. Her laugh filled every room, and her curiosity knew no limits. She was the kind of child who made people smile without even trying. Nothing about her suggested that something so devastating was quietly growing inside her body.
Everything changed in March 2025.
It began with a fever—something that seemed harmless at first. Children get sick all the time, and we truly believed it would pass. We gave her fever medicine, stayed by her side, and reassured ourselves that she would be back to running and laughing in no time. But the days passed, and the fever kept coming back. Anastasia became weaker. She stopped eating. She no longer wanted to play. The spark in her eyes slowly faded, and fear crept into our hearts.
Then we noticed something that felt deeply wrong—her runny nose, something she had always had, completely disappeared. It may sound small, but to a parent, it felt like a warning sign we couldn’t ignore.
We took her to the family doctor, who diagnosed her with strep throat. We were surprised, because Anastasia never complained about a sore throat, but we trusted the diagnosis and followed every instruction. She was given antibiotics, and we hoped—desperately—that this would finally make her better.
It didn’t.
The fever returned again and again. Vomiting followed. Her strength faded even more. Watching our little girl suffer while having no answers was unbearable. We pushed for further tests—blood tests, urine tests—anything that could explain what was happening.
On August 1st, 2025, our lives shattered.
We received a phone call from the doctor. Her voice was shaking as she spoke. She told us that Anastasia’s blood results strongly suggested leukemia. I felt the world stop. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I remember holding the phone, praying that I had misunderstood her words.
I rushed to the hospital, hoping with everything inside me that it was a mistake.
It wasn’t.
Anastasia was immediately admitted to the oncology ward. More tests followed. Then came the diagnosis we will never forget: acute myeloid leukemia, stage 4. The cancer had already spread to her bone marrow. Doctors told us this form of leukemia is extremely aggressive and one of the deadliest in children. Hearing those words felt like being torn apart. No parent is prepared to hear that their child may not survive.
From that moment on, our lives became hospital rooms, IV lines, medical machines, and endless fear.
Anastasia, who once danced and laughed freely, now lay in a hospital bed, surrounded by tubes and monitors. Her beautiful eyes, once filled with joy, reflected pain and confusion. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t go home, why her body hurt, or why she had to endure so many procedures. As her parents, we held her hand, smiled through tears, and tried to be strong for her—while silently breaking inside.
Desperate for hope, we refused to give up.
We searched for help beyond our country and contacted specialists at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel, known for treating the most complex and severe childhood cancers. After reviewing Anastasia’s medical records, they gave us something we thought we had lost forever—hope. They told us that her condition could be treated.
But hope came with an impossible price.
The cost of life-saving treatment—intensive chemotherapy, possible surgery, a bone marrow transplant, medications, and long-term care—exceeds 200,000 złoty. To give our daughter a chance, we sold our home. We drained every saving we had. We gave up everything material we owned.
And still, it is not enough.
Today, we are standing at the edge of desperation, with no other option but to ask for help.
No parent should ever have to watch their child suffer like this. We should be watching Anastasia run, laugh, and dream about her future—not sitting in a hospital room, wondering if tomorrow will come. She is only five years old. She deserves a chance to grow up, to go to school, to fall in love with life the way she once did.
Every donation, no matter how small, helps bring us closer to continuing her treatment. Every share spreads hope to someone who may be able to help. Every act of kindness gives Anastasia another chance to fight.
Please, from the depths of our hearts, help us save our daughter’s life.
We cannot do this alone.
Thank you for standing with us, for believing in Anastasia, and for giving our little girl the chance to live.
