What we have collectively achieved in the past year and a bit has been incredible. And Billy. Beautiful Billy. As the clocks go back, for the third time I am finding myself retracing our steps, reliving your suffering, replaying your diagnosis, remembering your trauma, I wanted to share these words from Professor Darren Hargrave from UCL and GOSH. This reminds me why I do what I do now. And maybe a reminder to those of you reading, why you are along for the ride, and why that means so much ❤️‍🩹 Thank you. Please read: ⬇️ “DIPG is one of the most devastating diagnoses a family can face, and for far too long, progress in treating it has been painfully slow. At UCL and Great Ormond Street, my team and I are working to change that, from understanding how these tumours grow and interact with the brain around them to testing new treatment approaches in some of the first clinical trials of their kind for children in the UK. Ongoing and planned clinical trials for DIPG include CAR-T cell, precision medicine, gene therapy and novel drug delivery therapies. Philanthropic support like Billy’s Battalion’s is vital at this stage. It gives us the freedom to follow promising new ideas quickly and flexibly, often before they’re ready for larger government or grant funding. That early backing is often what turns a new idea into the evidence needed for the next big step. I’m hugely grateful to Ellie and everyone who has rallied behind Billy’s Battalion in Billy’s memory. Your support is helping us push forward towards better treatments for children with DIPG and their families.” — Professor Darren Hargrave, GOSH Children’s Charity Clinical Professor in Paediatric Neuro-oncology, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health ‼️‼️Can we hit £80K in the JustGiving by New Year’s Eve? We are around £14K short of that target. 🎯 Let’s see how much more we can achieve together ❤️‍🩹 Our JustGiving link is in the bio or head here: justgiving.com/page/billysba… Thank you always, from the bottom of my broken heart ❤️‍🩹

The honest side of running a small charity: sometimes it’s really hard. We’re just over five weeks away from our first adult Superhero Mask Ball for Billy’s Battalion at The Boathouse in Guildford. Of the 100 tickets we need to sell, we’ve sold 42. The costs are mounting, and I’m feeling so disheartened. I set up Billy’s Battalion in memory of my little boy, who died from DIPG, an incurable brain tumour, aged four. We’re raising money for research because children like Billy desperately need better options. There’s so much work and hope behind an event like this. Right now, we need some help getting people through the door. Could you come along with friends? Bring your colleagues? Or share this with someone who might enjoy a night out for a cause that means everything to us? Black tie, superhero masks, a buffet, Prosecco on arrival and live music from the Ibiza Band with comedian Alfie Dundas hosting — and a room I’d love to see full of people helping us make a difference in Billy’s name. ❤️‍🩹 Booking link: ticketsource.com/billysbash/…

A heartfelt thanks to Barney Calman @BarneyCalman and his team at the @DailyMail, not only for the opportunity to write and share part of Billy's story, but for the kindness, care and sensitivity with which they've handled it. Please take the time to read it if you can. It's a difficult journey, and it's long, but I hope it's worth it. It's not about apportioning blame (although there was a time when I could have knocked them all out). It's about making things right. Making things better for the children to come. I can't do that for you now, Billy, but I know you're right there with me, every single step of the way. As I promised you after you died, and again in this article: "I will fight for little ones like you. Because I'm not sure what else I am supposed to do if I can't do that." dailymail.com/health/article…

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HEALTH SECRETARY. Dear Health Secretary, My name is Ellie Thompson. I am Billy’s mum. Billy was four years old when he died from DIPG, an incurable childhood brain cancer, on Easter Sunday, 31 March 2024. He was funny, brave, full of life and completely adored. He loved superheroes, rugby, Ghostbusters and Queen. He should be seven years old now. Instead, I’m writing to you because other families are facing the same devastating reality. When Billy was diagnosed, we were told there was no cure. We watched him endure radiotherapy, steroids and the gradual loss of everything that made him independent. We watched him suffer. And then we held him in our arms as he died. Fighting for his peace. We felt abandoned by the health care system, who failed to be there when we asked, when we needed. But what haunts me isn’t only how Billy died. It’s everything that came before it. The lack of treatment options. The desperate search for something that might help. And the knowledge that other families are facing the same nightmare. Since Billy died, we’ve established Billy’s Battalion and campaigned alongside Brain Cancer Justice. We’ve taken our children’s stories to Parliament. We’ve written letters. We’ve begged for change. But we cannot do this alone. We need dedicated, full-time national leadership for brain cancer. Someone to drive research, improve access to trials and make brain cancer a priority. A National Brain Cancer Lead won’t bring Billy back. It won’t undo that Easter Sunday, or the black van that arrived with a stretcher and a body bag to take my little boy away. But it could help change the future for families who haven’t yet heard the words that destroyed ours. My son was four years old. He didn’t get to grow up. The very least we can do is fight for the children who still might. Please give brain cancer the dedicated national leadership it deserves. Ellie Thompson Billy’s Battalion ❤️‍🩹DO YOU AGREE? If you support this call, comment I AGREE and your town or county below. Please don’t share your full address or postcode. For Billy. For change. ❤️‍🩹

Hattie has cemented her superhero status! 🦸🏻‍♀️✂️ This morning at Leaf Studios, Hattie had her hair cut for the Little Princess Trust and raised money for Billy’s Battalion as part of Haircuts for Heroes Day. She was so brave, even though I know it was really scary. ❤️‍🩹 Thank you so much, Hattie. You’re a legend, and we’re so grateful for what you’ve done. Your new haircut looks incredible! 🔥😍🤩 Hattie has raised over 1.7k for charity. Can we bump this to 2K? 😍 Donate here: gvwhl.com/9AMVF