A Moray tot battling back from cancer is looking forward to a trip to the zoo this weekend – to celebrate tests showing she remains disease-free.
Little Eileidh Paterson conquered the disease earlier this summer, and in July she flew to America for the first bout of a pioneering therapy to prevent it from returning.
This week, she returned to Michigan’s Helen DeVos Hospital for a second course of medication, and underwent tests which have confirmed she remains cancer-free.
Eileidh, of Forres, was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer, last May.
The aggressive childhood condition typically has an 80% chance of returning, so her mother Gail desperately starting fundraising in April to get her daughter on a US drugs trial not yet available in the UK.
The north-east communities responded in force and a staggering £125,000 was raised in less than three months.
Yesterday Ms Paterson admitted it had been an anxious second trip to the US, with the gruelling test ahead of them.
Doctors initially assessed Eileidh’s height and weight, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and temperature.
They then checked her tummy, lungs, ears, mouth and throat.
She was then sedated and underwent a 90-minute nuclear medicine MIBG scan to look for uncontrolled or abnormal cell growth in the body. Within a couple of hours however, the Patersons were given the good news.
Ms Paterson said: “Surprisingly, the time went past rather quickly as normally it feels like forever when we have to wait for the results.
“I can’t begin to explain how relieved I was to be told she was still cancer free.
“The doctor told us straight away, and I was given the next block of medication and the dates for her next appointments.”
Life will now return to normal until December, when Eileidh will return to Michigan for her third round of tests.
And Ms Paterson said she is hoping the weather stays fine over the weekend so Eileidh can enjoy a well-deserved treat before returning home.
“Hopefully, tomorrow will be a nice, warm day,” she said. “I really want to take her to the zoo.
“She absolutely loved it there and after a stressful and worrying few days, I want to see her enjoy every minute of it, without a care in the world.”