Leighann and Keith brought their little boy Arran back home to Scotland to visit friends and family on a holiday they had been dreaming about for a long time. They were based in New Zealand and due to the pandemic this was the first time Arran had ever been able to visit Scotland and their family back here in the UK.

Unfortunately, their lives were turned upside down, when Leighann and Keith noticed some bruises on Arran that couldn’t be explained. They took him into hospital to get him looked over, only to be given the earth-shattering news that Arran had leukaemia.

Their little boy, just turned 3 in July, is now fighting for his life, and is facing the next 5 weeks in hospital, with only his parents allowed to visit. For the next 6 months he will have intensive chemotherapy followed by a further 2 and a half years of maintenance chemotherapy. Leighann and Keith are by Arran's side through all of this, but due to the severity of his situation, the doctors have said Arran cannot travel back to NZ for treatment.

They are stuck in a situation where they had to give up their jobs in NZ, and so have no income, but still have a mortgage and all of their usual bills to pay back there, as well as all of the essential costs now that they are here in the UK. All on top of dealing with the exhausting new reality of being with their son in hospital as they all go through this together. With all of this in mind they have decided to move their lives back home to Scotland where their family and support networks can best help them.

The money we raise through JustGiving will go directly to Leighann and Keith to help them pay for essentials here in the UK, their remaining bills and commitments in NZ, and moving their lives and possessions (including Arrans favorite toys) back over to settle at home in Scotland. As well as other simple things for Arran, like books, games, toys anything that can help him alleviate the pain and frustration he’s dealing with stuck in hospital, with constant biopsies, injections, invasive tubing, oral and IV chemotherapy and everything else this life saving, but tough treatment entails.

Please, please give anything you can. And if you can’t give anything please share this page with everyone you know. Leighann and I are life-long friends, and my earliest memories of her will always be her passion for helping people. After School she spent a year volunteering in Africa to help orphans and abandoned children affected by the AIDs crisis. She went on to become a nurse and met Keith, who volunteered with her dad for 10 years in Mountain Rescue. They are a kind, loving and generous family who have spent their lives helping people, and right now they need our help. Leighann has also asked for people to please consider, if you haven't already, donating blood, platelets and bone marrow. This was her latest status update of Facebook, when Arran was having another blood transfusion on her birthday…