A SOLIHULL nine-year-old locked in a fight with cancer has put meeting England football hero Harry Kane at the top of his wish list.
A year on from being given the all-clear, Joshua Nicholson’s Leukemia – an aggressive cancer affecting bone marrow and blood cells – returned for the third time.
But Josh remains upbeat and has made a list of things he wants to do before going for treatment at Great Ormond Street hospital.
His list includes a holiday to Ireland, driving a Ferrari, walking Aston Villa out at a game and getting a trophy for his bravery.
He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) four years ago – and underwent a three-and-a-half year course of treatment.
Since the disease returned in May, he has undergone intensive chemotherapy which has cleared the leukemia from his spinal fluid and bone marrow.
He is now on a low dose of a chemotherapy drug to keep it at bay until he will undergo CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-Cell Therapy treatment in September.
His heart-broken family have received support from all quarters with fundraising pages being set-up and charity events dedicated to Josh’s struggle being arranged.
A fundraising page created by Maxine McGuiness and her family aims to raise £10,000 to help support Josh’s family through his ordeal – a target it has already met.
Josh’s family will have to travel to London while he undergoes treatment in Great Ormond Street hospital for a few months.
His younger brother Luke – who was his bone marrow donor – will also stay with the family.
The family say they will need to fund accommodation costs, travel expenses and living allowance while also paying their mortgage and bills for their home in Solihull.
Josh’s mother Vic is a supply teacher and his father Matt is self-employed – so neither will have any income during Josh’s treatment.
Josh goes to Our Lady of Compassion school in St Bernards Road and he, his friends and his teachers have been hard at work raising money for his family’s relocation.
It has arranged a ‘Walk around the world for Josh’ fundraiser over the school summer holidays in which children get sponsored for their attempt to cumulatively walk the 24,900 mile circumference of earth.
On May 25, Joshua’s parents posted on Facebook: “Devastated. After weeks wanting answers as to why Josh has been so poorly we got the answers that we did not want.
“After everything his has gone through he has sadly relapsed. The evil disease is now in his central nervous system.
“The hospital have to do more tests to see exactly what we are dealing with before looking at the options available.
“There are options and there is hope and although Josh is so sad it’s come back, he says he wants to fight it.
“He now faces his third battle with cancer. As parents we can be by his side each step of the way but feeling totally useless.
“We are heartbroken and will try and make life as happy and as comfortable for his as humanly possible.”
To donate to Josh’s cause go to his Just Giving page:
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/josh-nicholson-teamjosh?utm_id=1&utm_term=mPEJjbqRQ
And to follow his journey go to: www.facebook.com/Joshienic/
Josh’s complete wish list:
– Walk Aston Villa out at a game and meet the team
– Meet Ali-A (Youtuber)
– Go to The Camp Nou in Barcalona
– Go to Ireland
– Meet Harry Kane
– A party with his friends
– Go for a drive in a Maserati or Ferrari
– A trophy for his bravery
– Go to see Patrick (movie) at the cinema
– Shawn Mendes to dedicate ‘In my blood’ to him
– Jack Grealish to stay at Aston Villa
– A weekend away with a hot tub
