The people of Norfolk have rallied to show their support for Deryn Blackwell as he enters the most crucial point in his three-year battle with cancer.
Watton's Deryn Blackwell is today poised for the latest stage in his battle against leukaemia, which he was diagnosed with aged 10 and Langerhans cell sarcoma – of which he is one of only six known cases in the world.
Yesterday, dozens of people responded to an appeal on our @edp24 twitter account to tweet words and pictures to show they were thinking of the 13-year-old.
Using the #smileforDeryn political editor Annabelle Dickson even bagged a picture holding a #smileforDeryn placard outside 10 Downing Street, the home of David Cameron.
Other messages included:
@cat186 Amazing, brave boy. #smileforDeryn
@DWRaven Please support this amazing boy and his family #smileforDeryn
@321Viv Sending @_DoEveRYthiNg gentle collie hugs #smileforDeryn
@LynnBoly I am smiling smilingly #smileforDeryn x
@RebekahJ88 He deserves to be trending and I hope everyone shares #smileforDeryn xx
@Mrfluff84 please help support this warrior! Tremendous strength for a 13 year old boy #smileforDeryn
Thought to be the only person to have both conditions at the same time, the Wayland Academy pupil has been in Bristol since February after undergoing and recovering from a bone-marrow transplant.
Eight months after the procedure doctors told Deryn's family his marrow had failed to graft and the potentially life-saving procedure has not worked.
Today is Deryn's last chance – after four doses of chemotherapy to eradicate any donor bone marrow stem cells still left in him, the doctors will try the last bag of Deryn's own cells.
The results could take up to three weeks to come back, but his mother, Callie, said if it fails then there are no other options left.
Both Deryn and his younger brother Dylan have set up a bucket list of things they would like to do.
If you can help the family or want to follow their daily progress visit www.doeverything.org.uk or follow them @_doeverything
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