Big push to help Braes cancer fighter access potentially life-saving vaccine

Brave Brightons youngster Ashlee Easton (13) has been fighting high-risk neuroblastoma since she was six.

She has relapsed twice in that time — most recently in November 2018 — but support for the Braes High pupil has never wavered and school staff, students and parents have raised more than £40,000 to help the Ashlee’s Neuroblastoma Appeal campaign coin in £172,000.

The campaign was set up by Ashlee’s family with the aim of reaching the £239,000 needed to grant her access to a pioneering bivalent vaccine in New York which could prevent the cancer from returning.

As the pot grows, so does hope that the final total will be met.

The Eastons have been overwhelmed by the levels of support shown towards Ashlee, whose fellow Braes High pupils have held an array of events to contribute to the family’s appeal.

A Zero to Hero Facebook page created by Ashlee’s friends Katie Dick and Hannah Hope, in which members were invited to donate £1, has brought in an incredible £8200 so far, while a dress down day raised £1000.

Another pupil at Braes High, Ruaridh Divers, completed an underground tube station challenge in which he managed to visit 270 stations in under 24 hours, generating £1776.

Elsewhere, several businesses have also backed the cause, including Ochil Timber Products Ltd in Denny, where Ashlee’s dad Donald works, which boosted the coffers by £12,000.

Easiwash in Polmont is planning on having a charity car wash day to collect donations for the campaign.

On top of that, Atrium Estate & Letting Agents Ltd, also of Polmont, has pledged to donate £100 from the sale commission of each house they take on during the month of February. If the firm takes on ten houses, it hopes to double the donation and raise £2000.

The Falkirk Round Table donated £4000 from a Santa Sleigh collection, while a bucket collection at The Falkirk Stadium, held by Ashlee’s family, raised £889.

Her mum Lisa said: “We’ve just been delighted by the response and touched by the messages of support.

“Ashlee is just the same. She thinks everybody is so kind thinking about her.

“We’re just waiting on the scan results to come back. She needs to have the first vaccine by March 22, 45 days from when she got her scan.”

Plans are in place for a host of fundraisers as the Eastons look to hit the £239,000 mark.

A Robbie Williams and George Michael tribute night will be held at The Three Kings in Shieldhill on March 21, as well as a race night at North Broomage Social Club in Larbert, the date of which has still to be confirmed.

The family also plans to do bucket collections at The SSE Hydro when Lewis Capaldi and The 1975 perform in Glasgow next month. For more information and to donate, visit www.ashappeal.co.uk.