West Norfolk family raffles holiday home after shock cancer diagnosis

A Lynn family is raffling off their home to raise funds for a children's cancer charity after their 19-month-old was diagnosed with a rare disease.

Samantha and Steven Wilkinson, both 36, decided to offer their holiday home in the Lake District as a prize with hopes of raising £40,000 for Neuroblastoma UK.

The couple were inspired to fundraise for the charity following the shock diagnosis of their daughter, Oonagh, with a rare form of childhood cancer when she was just 19 months.

Samantha, who grew up in South Wootton, said: "I look at her and she's three now, but she's been through so much and she's done it all with a smile on her face. She's so brave."

The family had returned to the UK, where they have family in Lynn, Downham and Middleton, following a stint in Dubai when Oonagh was diagnosed.

"Oonagh had been poorly on and off for a month but it was her first winter in the UK so we put it down to that. She had an swollen tummy so we took her to the doctors," said Samantha.

The 19-month-old was transferred to hospital where she underwent ultrasounds and testing, doctors suspected a problem with her liver or spleen.

"It catapulted us into this new world and everything changed that day. They told us her bloods were okay and at that stage cancer hadn't even entered my mind," added Samantha.

"It was only when they scanned her kidneys that they discovered the first tumour. The atmosphere in that room just changed and I burst into tears."

Doctors found two tumours, one on Oonagh's left kidney, and the other on the right side of her spine. She was diagnosed with stage one neuroblastoma.

The diagnosis came just five days before the family were due to move to Spain, they had already sold their home and had just enough clothes for the next few days.

Samantha said: "We're really lucky it was stage one and it was picked up really quickly so she didn't need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. She's doing really well now and she has an MRI every three months."

The family are currently based in Spain, but plan to return to the UK and find a more permanent home. They decided to raffle their holiday home to raise funds to support other families affected by neuroblastoma.

"60 per cent of all cases diagnosed are stage four and a lot of the treatment is not available on the NHS so families have to fund it themselves and travel to the US to join trials," said Samantha. "We're so fortunate that it was caught early, and we wanted to give back to support those families who aren't so lucky."

She added: "House raffles are a new way to fundraise and they give the normal individual the opportunity to really make an impact."

The family are pledging a minimum donation of £40,000 to Neuroblastoma UK and have nearly sold half of the 120,000 tickets available.

The Lake District property has been completely refurbished and has a value of around £180,000. The couple are covering all legal fees, stamp duty, plus they will also give the winner £5,000 in cash.

The raffle has already been promoted by the charity's patrons, Alan Carr and Radio One's Scott Mills, along with Atomic Kitten band members Natasha Hamilton.

Tickets cost £2.50 each and are available from https://raffall.com/152412/enter-raffle-to-win-south-lakes-house-5000-hosted-by-the-wilkinson-family