A Highland family has found a bone marrow donor to help save their toddler’s life after launching a desperate public appeal.
Steph and Jordan Davidson, from Alness, last month urged people to come forward to help little Adeline after two potential donors fell through.
Hundreds have since signed up to join the donor register in response and medics have now confirmed that a possible match has been traced abroad.
The three-year-old from Easer Ross has a rare form of blood cancer which affects only one in every 250,000 children.
Her only hope of survival is a suitable bone marrow donor.
Though encouraged by finding a match, her mum said the bone marrow transplant is a “last resort” and will not come without risks.
The 26-year-old said: “There are risks to it but, unfortunately, we don’t have time to search the registers again because it takes some time. We just have to go for it.
“There is the chance of it not working at all, the chance her body will reject it or her body treats it as a foreign body and starts fighting it.
“We are at the last resort.”
Mrs Davidson added: “If we left her any longer, we would be taking for granted her stability and her marrow not changing into something worse. We just have to hope.”
Adeline will travel to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children at the end of November to undergo a bout of chemotherapy ahead of the transplant.
The donor’s stem cells will be harvested and frozen before being flown to Scotland.
The family was moved to launch the public appeal after doctors told them there were no matching donors left on the register who could help Adeline.
Mrs Davidson said being able to see their firstborn daughter live a fulfilled life would “mean everything” to her.
She added: “You never expect anything like this to happen.
“Everybody sees a future for their children and she deserves to get to nursery, start a life and have friends.
“She has so much ahead of her so it means everything to us.”
Through their heartfelt appeal, more than 500 people have signed up to become a donor.
The family have now vowed to continue the fight in finding viable donors for thousands of sick children like Adeline.
The mum added: “The support has been amazing. Just through her page, through word of mouth, and the number of people that I know that have signed up, we probably have about 500 people on the register.
“It’s amazing. There are so many other boys and girls in her situation so I don’t think I will ever stop asking people to become a donor. It’s so important to us.
“There are everyday heroes out there, including those who give blood.
“Blood transfusions are what has keep Adeline alive since the beginning.
“I hope they keep it up so other people in this situation won’t have to worry as much.”
