£75,000 for charity in Doncaster baby Freya's name

A proud mum has been left overwhelmed after a mystery donor gave £75,000 to charity in her young daughter's name.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Mar 2016, 14:00 BST
Joanne McBride, 40, with her daughter Freya, now five-months-old, who has Kawasaki disease.Joanne McBride, 40, with her daughter Freya, now five-months-old, who has Kawasaki disease.
Joanne McBride, 40, with her daughter Freya, now five-months-old, who has Kawasaki disease.

Joanne McBride’s daughter Freya, now 11 months old, suffers from Kawasaki disease, which causes blood vessels to become inflamed.

The Sprotbrough baby was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with the condition, which can be fatal if left untreated.

Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.
Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.
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The disease is difficult to detect and Freya’s heart was damaged in the 13 days it took for her to be diagnosed, but now Joanne is looking forward to her daughter’s first birthday.

Joanne decided to mark the milestone by raising money to fund the research which ultimately saved her little girl.

She started an online fundraising page – and was amazed to receive a donation for £75,000 from a man, who wishes to remain anonymous, who had found her Twitter profile and wanted to help.

Mum-of-three Joanne said: “It’s an enormous boost to the research programme and I am so proud of my little girl for having been able to inspire such a fantastic donation before she’s even a year old.

Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.
Freya McBride, now 10-months-old, of Sprotbrough, who was the youngest person in the country to be diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when she was two-months-old.

“It will be matched by a US grant, so it is worth £150,000.

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“The donor has asked for privacy, but he has been in contact with me directly so I have managed to thank him.”

In a poignant blog post to Freya called ‘75,000 reasons to be thankful’, she said: “My response was something like, ‘Are you serious? How is that even possible?!’ which was met with a reply about the world not being all bad.”

A fun day for family and friends is set to take place on April 10 – Freya’s first birthday – to raise more for the Cosmic Kawasaki Disease Research fund.

It will be held at St Mary’s Church Hall, Sprotbrough. There will be a raffle, face painting, balloon modelling, jewellery making, a cake sale and more.

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Raffle prizes are still being donated by local businesses and will include a family day pass for Yorkshire Wildlife Park, cinema tickets for Vue Doncaster, and a wash, cut and finish at Priority Hair and Beauty Salon.

Search for Freya’s Story on Facebook or @Freya_Story on Twitter for more information. Visit Joanne’s blog at www.bluemama.co.uk. Donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/giving and search Joanne McBride.