​‘Chester’s Chance’ encourages parents to trust their instincts regarding their children's health

​Emma Byrne has set up the ‘Chester’s Chance’ fundraiser after her son Chester was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia shortly after his second birthday.

However, it took plenty of persistence from Emma, after her concerns fell on deaf ears with several medical professionals.

Once Chester’s condition continued to deteriorate, she finally received the diagnosis, and Chester is receiving great care at The Children's Cancer Unit at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

‘Chester’s Chance’ has been set up to raise money for the unit, and to encourage parents to trust their gut.

“They've been amazing. They really have,” said Emma.

“One of the main reasons why we wanted to create Chester’s Chance was to raise funds to help the charity.

“But my driving force is to raise awareness about childhood cancer because, I didn't realise what it’s like until I was in this environment, whereas now, you're seeing it first-hand. There are three families in here (The Royal) at the minute from on our doorstep.

“It's really, really scary and it's really overwhelming, but it's real life. And we all share the same unfortunate experience of we have expressed our worries and they've been dismissed constantly.

“To me, there is a massive breakdown in communication between GPs and the public in general, but especially, I believe, in young families. There has to be an accountability taken somewhere.

“You're always going to be your own child's advocate. But to really have to dig your heels into the ground and push and push and push, and be worked against when you're meant to be working together, it's like you're fighting a losing battle sometimes.

“The people that are meant to be there to help are nearly going against you.”

The response to the charity has been excellent thus far, with over £15,000 raised at the time of writing, and Emma thanks everyone for their support.

“The community has been unbelievable,” she said.

“I work locally in Newry, in the food market on the Belfast Road, and my husband is an airline pilot for Aer Lingus, and both companies have been amazing under the circumstances.

“We will be looking into doing more fundraising events, but the businesses in Newry have been amazing. We've tried every day to thank every single individual who we've come into contact with.

“We haven't even had to say, ‘can we put this in your shop?’ ‘Can we put this in your window?’ They've all reached out to us and it's been such a comfort.

“They see the idea of what we want to do, yes, raise money for charity and the work that they can do for the hospital, but also it's really driving that message forward about advocating for your child if you are unsure of something.”

If you would like to donate, you can do so by visiting gofundme.com and searching for ‘Chester Changes Lives’.