Parents of a seriously ill five-year-old girl, in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant, are appealing for help to save their daughter’s life.
Rachelle Emberton, 40, and her partner Malcolm Whittaker from Pitstone, have been trying to inspire new donors ever since their daughter Emma was diagnosed with a rare life limiting genetic disease called Fanconi Anaemia.
Rachelle said: “It was devastating because we didn’t know what we were going to do. As a family we were heartbroken and it has had a huge impact on us both emotionally and physically. I have had to close down my family business, it has been very difficult.
“Some days are awful and I think we now both suffer from depression because we don’t know what the future holds for our family.
“We don’t know what they are going to be able to achieve and how they will get on in the future. We are just taking each day as it comes.”
While testing Emma’s brother James, three, to see if he was a match, the family found he was also suffering from the disease, but have managed to find a match.
For Emma, the search still continues as Rachelle works with the Anthony Nolan charity to appeal for everyone aged 16-30 to join the register by doing a series of promotional events.
Rachelle said: “It was just pot luck that James found a match. Currently, there is no one on the register in the entire world who is a match for Emma. I would rather not being doing this, putting Emma and James out into the public eye, but I have to. I am doing it to save their lives.”
Search EmmaAndJames NeedYou on Facebook and follow @match4emma on Twitter or visit www.anthonynolan.org for information.