Brave gran Julie Hiley with daughter Beth and baby Isla Grace
By Emma Kirwan
A DARING Grandma is facing her fear of heights to raise money for her baby granddaughter who is battling a rare form of cancer.
Parents Beth Hiley and Rhys Large, both 20, of Rufford Ridge, Yeadon were “absolutely devastated” when their daughter Isla-Grace developed a tumour on her neck which grew to the size of a satsuma a week before being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in October 2014.
The cancer is thought to effect thirty children a year in the UK.
Now Beth’s mum Julie Hiley, 47, also from Yeadon, is abseiling down a hotel next week in a bid to raise money to help support Isla-Grace when she flies to America for specialist treatment.
She said: ““Isla has gone from being in nursery to spending 80% of her time in a hospital ward. It is devastating; she is my first grandchild and is full of love. It doesn’t just affect us but our wider family. We are really close.”
Isla-Grace and her parents will be traveling to America next month where she will undergo proton beam therapy to remove the tumour which formed in her soft tissue.
The NHS will fund the treatment, accommodation and flights for Isla-Grace and two carers but have estimated a living cost of £10,000 which has prompted Mrs Hiley to face her fear of heights to help raise money for her granddaughter.
She said: “I wanted to prove how much I loved her and justify that love by doing something I am terrified of. As a mum you try not to show your fear, I will be scared but I will do it.”
Comedian Billy Pearce will be attending the fundraiser which Mrs Hiley hopes will help attract more people.
She added: “Everyone is welcome to come along. Once we hit the target anything left over will go to charities and towards helping another child in the same situation as us. We really appreciate the help we have received; it has given us the strength to keep going through such a difficult time”
The abseil will be at the Jurys Inn hotel, Thornton Road, Bradford on Friday, March 6th at 11am and is being provided free of charge by Lost Earth Adventures of York.
If you would like to donate visit www.islagracehospitaladventure.co.uk or follow Isla-Grace’s progress on social networking website Facebook which now has over 1000 likes www.facebook.com/IslaGraceLarge.
Miss Hiley said: “I was working in a nursery since she was four weeks old but I couldn’t keep working. She is my main priority and needs my full time care.