This Veteran Is Selling His War Medals To Pay For A Little Girl's Cancer Treatment
August 22, 2017
A former Royal Marine who served in the Iraq War is selling his war medals to help pay for a little girl's £200,000 ($256K) cancer treatment.
Lottie Woods-John was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma on June 30, 2016. She was just 2 years old.
Despite never meeting Lottie, 35-year-old veteran Matthew Goodman read about Lottie's battle with the rare cancer and listed his three service medals on eBay.
"As a father myself, I couldn't imagine seeing my baby daughter, Freya, suffering like that and I knew I had to help in some way," Goodman told The Sun.
"My medals were just sitting in the drawer doing nothing, and I thought they could be used for something worthwhile.
"They were awarded for the sacrifices I made, but I'm happy to forgo that honor if it means helping a little girl in desperate need."
After being diagnosed, Lottie immediately underwent chemotherapy and, in October last year, had a 13-hour operation to remove 95 percent of the tumor.
Now the 4-year-old is undergoing immunotherapy to zap the rest of the cancerous cells in her body, but desperately needs an innovative vaccine treatment only available in the US.
"Lottie has been given 20 per cent chance of surviving the next five years and there's an 85 per cent chance of the cancer returning," Lottie's mother Charlotte Woods told The Sun.
"The vaccine treatment prevents the cancer from returning, so Lottie needs the cutting-edge treatment straight away, meaning we need the £200,000 imminently."
Charlotte, who has two other children, added: "When Matt contacted me to tell me he wanted to sell his medals to help towards treatment costs I was speechless."
Goodman, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland, said:
"If people stand up and support families like Lottie's then it makes all the difference.
"Once they're sold, in the place of my medals I'll be wearing a childhood cancer awareness ribbon. For me, nothing is worth a child's life."
To help the family please donate on JustGiving.com.
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