A family has spoken of their joy after well-wishers donated more than £230,000 to send four-year-old Liam Scott to New York for a potentially life-saving cancer vaccine.
The child has been battling neuroblastoma since last year in the UK and was coming to the end of his treatment.
Claire and Michael Scott saw a spike in donations, taking them to £232,000, with Premier League star Pepe Reina contributing £2,000 to their appeal.
Liam's mother said relatives were "crying and shouting" with joy when they realised they had hit their target.
Speaking about watching the donations rise on Friday she said: “It literally happened so quickly.
“We just kept on checking and it kept on moving up and up and up.
“And then I saw we had done it. We were crying, shouting, all in tears.”
With the end of Liam's treatment approaching, his family know there is a high chance the cancer could return.
Once his course of immunotherapy finishes at the end of August, the family want to take him to New York, where he can receive an experimental vaccine which could prevent the cancer coming back.
Mrs Scott said: “We are just so grateful to everyone who donated, retweeted, shared and supported us the whole way through.”
When Covid-19 lockdown hit, the family worried about how they would continue fundraising, with high-profile events such as the London Marathon being cancelled.
But help came in the form of local footballer Charlie Holmes and his family, who joined Team Liam and refused to stop until they hit the target.
Earlier this year, the former Dagenham and Redbridge player completed a gruelling 140 miles of running in 14 days, all streamed live on Instagram during lockdown.
Mr Holmes and Liam’s dad Michael will be kayaking across the Channel on Tuesday.
And as the fundraiser approached its £232,000 target it was given a boost by another footballer — this time a World Cup winner.
On Twitter Reina wrote: "Hope it all goes well!!! God bless you all!! Strength and faith for the little one."
