Parents of girl diagnosed with inoperable brain tumor say they could ‘sell their house’ to fund treatment

Devastated parents who are desperate to raise money to help prolong their baby girl’s life after she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor have revealed they may ‘sell their house’.

This Morning viewers were left emotional after today’s episode featured Craig Jackson and his wife Lois, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, revealing the lengths they would go to help their daughter Edie.

Edie was diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma (DIPG) on November 27, 2019, following an examination at the opticians.

The high-grade nature of the tumor means that surgery to remove it is not an option as it would likely cause severe neurological damage, or worse, prove fatal, while chemotherapy also did not help so far.

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Possible treatments to help prolong Edie’s life include trials being developed in Seattle and a new drug being developed in New York, according to The sun.

It comes after Edie underwent chemotherapy in New York which cost £245,000 and was paid for with donations. Unfortunately, her brain tumor continued to grow after the treatment.

Now to pay for other expensive options, the parents of two admitted they could sell their home, when appearing on This Morning today.

While chatting with hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Craig said: “It’s really hard to watch the most precious thing in your life go through this.”

“We will continue to put one foot in front of the other and move forward with it. If we have to go overseas, that’s what we’ll do.

“If we have to sell the house, we have to sell the house,” he added, as he sat alongside his wife in their Essex home.

Edie’s parents, who also have a ten-year-old son, have launched a fundraising page for the treatment of their daughter.

Viewers were devastated by the moving story, with one writing: “Poor Edie, this puts everything into perspective.”

Another tweeted: ‘This is awful poor little girl how tragic #ThisMorning’, while a third wrote: ‘I feel for the little girl and her family.’

Craig previously told FEMAIL how they booked Edie an appointment at the opticians when she started having double vision and her left eye started turning inwards causing her to develop a strabismus.

From there, the optician referred the family to their GP and sent a letter asking for Edie to be seen urgently by a specialist.

“We immediately felt very nervous when we saw the word ‘urgent’ on the optician’s letter of recommendation, so we made a private appointment at Moorfields Eye Hospital on November 25, 2019,” Craig recalled.

“From there we were sent the same day to Harlow Princess Alexandra Hospital for an MRI, the results of which were sent to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). A few hours later, we were told that Edie had a brain tumor.

“Once the scans were reviewed, we were transferred to GOSH and the worst possible news was confirmed.

“Not only did Edie have a brain tumour, it was an aggressive tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in a part of the brainstem called the pons.

“The pons controls essential bodily functions such as heart rate, breathing, swallowing, eye movements, sight, and balance.”

As the bridge is located in the center of the brain, a surgeon could not reach the tumor without damaging the surrounding parts of the brain. Even if the tumor were accessible, total removal would be impossible.

Craig previously added that their daughter was an “absolute star” and remained very brave and strong throughout her ordeal.