A Nottingham mum has shared the tragic story behind the bright pink ribbons which were spotted across the city. Reanna Cotterill, of Bilborough, said she will not stop fighting for her ten-month-old baby, despite being diagnosed with a rare disease that means she will not live past childhood.
Ms Cotterill said her life was turned upside down after being told that her daughter, Milanna-May Eshelby, had Mitochondrial Disease, a life-limiting condition. The 25-year-old said this was "the worst news a parent could hear" - and her life changed completely after the diagnosis on February 22.
It came after Ms Cotterill went through seven miscarriages - and Milanna was her "miracle baby". Both her parents were forced to quit their jobs and dedicate all their time to the baby.
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Initially, they were told that Milanna "would not outlive her childhood". But the miracle baby's parents started to see the light at the end of the tunnel after finding out about a trial which could potentially prolong their daughter's life.
Ms Cotterill recalls: "Initially, Milanna was first diagnosed at Boston Children's Hospital in America. But then they came back with a price and it was just unrealistic.
"But then I have actually had this dad from Canada reaching out to me, whose son also suffers with the disease. And he has been working on a drug with Canadian doctors since 2019.
"So we are just waiting now to see if the doctors in Canada can accept my daughter under the same trial. If they do accept her we will go there to start the trial in the middle of April, and that will be three months at a time."
Ms Cotterill said she is feeling "hopeful", adding: "At the moment, both Milanna's dad and I are running on adrenaline. We are just relying on the fact that we have got hope on this trial.
"We have more bad days than we do good days. Most of the days we just want to lock ourselves away with Milanna, and just be in our own bubble and make her untouchable.
"We just hope that the trial is going to prolong our daughter's life. A lot of the families that we have been speaking to in America and other places have children who are 12 or 13-years-old. Whereas doctors in the UK told us that our daughter is not going to outlive childhood.
"We are hopeful that if this trial works, we are going to get 10 more years with our daughter than what doctors here are saying that we are going to get. We are going to fight for her."
Around 20 pink ribbons have been displayed in parts of the city to raise awareness about Milanna's tragic story. A fundraising football event will also take place on Sunday afternoon, March 12, at Clifton All Whites on Green Lane.
Her parents also set up a fundraising page, which has raised £27,203 at the time of writing. A heartfelt description of their cause reads: "Milanna was longed for, wanted and a long time coming for her mummy and daddy after multiple miscarriage heartbreak, she is Reanna & Malakys light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
"Milanna was a normal, happy, healthy baby until 7th January when our worlds were turned upside down. She was taken to hospital having seizures and was put into intensive care for her little body to rest and this was the start of what would be a very long road."
To donate to or share the fundraiser, click here.
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