The family of a nine-year-old cancer patient have raised £50,000 in a week towards a life-saving operation, boosted by a £10,000 donation from US singer Pink.
Clackmannanshire girl Mackenzie Furniss needs £300,000 for pioneering surgery in Germany to remove an aggressive and advanced tumour of the nervous system.
After going public with her plight, donations have flooded in to the schoolgirl from around the world, including a remarkable act of generosity by the singer of hits such as So What and Stupid Girl.
The appeal total now stands at almost £90,000.
But with just eight days to go to meet the hospital’s deadline for payment, the family have renewed their appeal for help.
Mackenzie’s mother Kimberley, 29, is overwhelmed by the response to the appeal and hopes that a big donation like the one from Pink will happen again.
The Grammy winner tweeted a link to Mackenzie’s JustGiving page to her 18,704,806 followers on August 17.
Pink said: “Ten days left for this little girl raising money for last hope of treatment I did. Can you?”
Kimberley, who lives in Sauchie with her husband Jason and three children, said: “It was such a shock. We’ve been asking celebrities to retweet the link to Mackenzie’s donation page.
“It’s humbling that Pink donated and we’re so grateful to her for the money, especially such a large amount.
“Mackenzie was over the moon and started making videos to Pink’s songs and putting them on YouTube.
“It was the first time a celebrity has donated as well as retweeted, so it’s given us hope that we can get Mackenzie the treatment she needs.”
Hollywood actor Justin Long, who starred in He’s Just Not That Into You with Jennifer Aniston, also donated $1,000 (£640).
On August 13 he tweeted: “Today, between traffic and lunch and Breaking Bad conversations, take a minute to help save a young girl’s life.”
Kimberley added: “We need all the help we can get. We’ve got days to reach our total.
“We’re not asking for large amount. Every penny counts even a pound will help. Anything spare would mean so much to us and to Mackenzie.
“If she doesn’t get the treatment she might not make it to her next birthday. The cancer is so aggressive that we take one day at a time.”
Mackenzie is suffering from stage four, high-risk neuroblastoma. Her condition is untreatable in the UK but a trial treatment in Germany could increase her chances of survival from just 5% to 80%.
To donate to the appeal, visit www.justgiving.com/Appeal4Mackenzie. You can also follow her progress on the appeal’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mackenziesmiracle