A father-of-two has turned his back on his career and a £200,000 job to spend time with his daughters who are battling "billions-to-one" life-threatening illnesses at the same time. Matt Shaw, 39, was a financial analyst and was offered a position in London with a salary of £200,000 but declined so he can spend "as much time as possible" with his two young children.
Sophia, five, has already beaten the odds to overcome a brain tumour while second daughter, Delilah, who is three months old, was born with hyperinsulinism - a condition which means she has higher than normal insulin levels. However, Matt and wife Tracy, 33, from County Durham, were devastated when they found out Sophia's cancer had returned in her spine, while Delilah needs feeding every three hours or could become fatally weak.
He told The Mirror : "Before this I was flying high in my career and during the pandemic I was offered a job down in London which would have paid around £200,000 but I just couldn't take it. The one positive of this whole process is that it has taught me how precious time is with my family, and being brutally honest I don't know how much time I have left with them.. You can't put a price on the memories you make with your children."
Hyperinsulinism affects around one in 30,000 babies in the UK and Matt claims doctors told him that the chances of both his daughters having the two illnesses at the same time are "billions to one".
"I asked the doctor what are the chances of this happening, you know the cancer coming back but in a different part of Sophia's body and then Delilah being diagnosed with this condition," he added.
"He shook his head and said 'it's billions to one', he said 'I can't put a number on it', one of these things happening is rare enough in itself. The whole thing has been absolutely exhausting and devastating but I've told myself that I'm done being sad, I have to try and stay positive for the girls and believe that we will get through this."
Sophia underwent a successful operation to remove a brain tumour the size of a golf ball when she was only three years old after complaining of headaches while on a camping trip in August 2020. Scans came back all clear in September 2021 but just four weeks later doctors claimed they saw something suspicious on her spine, which has been diagnosed as incurable and "only a matter of time".
However, the family have since launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for a series of treatments, with the couple claiming they have already had success with holistic bio-resonance therapy. The family need £125,000 to sustain the holistic bio-resonance therapy in addition to flights to Spain or Holland to undergo dendritic cell therapy.
Matt said: "We want to try and keep life as normal as possible for Sophia so we don't let on too much about what is happening and we have to be brave ourselves. The doctors say that there is nothing they can do for Sophia this time but we refuse to accept that the cancer will win this battle.
"The thought of living in this world without either of my little girls is just not an option. We will do everything in our power to see both of them grow up and start families of their own."
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