A Scots teen who suffers four migraines a day due to an egg-sized mass growing in his skull will undergo specialist surgery following a £100,000 donation.
Jack Dow, 18, from Aberdeen has been bedridden with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) since last year, upending his dream of becoming a Royal Marine.
Surgeons told parents Willie and Tracey that the NHS couldn’t operate on Jack without risking a stroke or blindness.
The other option is to travel to Miami, Florida for treatment costing around £147,000.
AVM causes abnormal blood vessel growth and disrupts oxygen flow.
Jack’s family set up a GoFundMe page earlier this year to raise cash for his operation.
Now the family have told how a “lovely, kind-hearted lady” from the south of England donated £100,000 to Jack’s cause leaving the fundraiser sitting at £193,470, well above the original target of £147,000.
In a statement posted to the page, the family said: “We received a massive offline donation.
“I can’t quite believe we are writing this, but a lovely kind-hearted lady from the south of England, who wants to remain anonymous has reached out, and offered us this very generous gift. She is amazing and has a heart of gold.
“She saw Jack’s go fund me page and wanted to help. We hope to meet with her once Jack is back fighting fit!
“We initially set our GoFundMe at £147,000. We had no idea how it would go. Honestly, we thought it would take years not weeks to raise these funds. So we are in shock!
“The £147,000 was to pay the cost of the procedures involved and the operation itself with four nights stay in hospital. Any extra surgical nights in hospital is charged at £6450 per day.
“What this does not include is the surgeon’s fee at 30 per cent. But thankfully with what has been raised so far we have covered all this. Unbelievable, we never thought we would ever be at this stage. Its amazing!!
“Jack will most likely need rehab. No one can say how much rehab he will need, we won’t know until he has had the op and started recovery. Rehab is charged at £11,000 per day.
“Once everything is covered there should be enough for four days rehab. Absolutely amazing.”
The family added they would continue to raise money to pay for rehab, flights and accommodation in the US.
Any money not spent on Jack’s surgery will go to AVM Awareness Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support Aberdeen and Friends of Anchor.
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