Huddersfield youngster Eden Smith met a pop legend when she was in New York for her latest pioneering cancer treatment.

The nine-year-old from Wooldale near Holmfirth, who has been successfully fighting a rare form of cancer, met Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley on the 40th anniversary of the group’s classic single Last Christmas which is back at No1 in the charts.

From her hotel room Eden also heard the shots when a high profile medical insurance company boss was murdered in the street.

Then she and dad Lee got caught in a winter storm!

The specialist Bivalent Vaccine treatment Eden needs to finish off her cancer treatment is only available at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York which is why she was there with Lee for her ninth injection.

While over there, Lee and Eden were guests at a Christmas event organised by the Saint George’s Society in New York – a charity set up in 1770 to help British settlers and their families and still supports families from the UK who fly to the city for medical treatment.

Andrew Ridgeley was guest of honour to mark 40 years since Last Christmas was released.

 

Eden Smith with dad Lee (left) and Andrew Ridgeley from Wham!

 

“It was certainly a trip to remember,” said Lee. “Despite his worldwide fame Andrew Ridgeley was really down to earth and Eden loves Last Christmas. There were so many Wham! fans there eager to meet him and he’s certainly a dapper guy.”

Eden also heard the shots when United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was gunned down in the street just around the corner from their hotel.

“I’d gone into the bathroom for a shower when Eden shouted that she’d heard fireworks,” said Lee. “But it was really early in the morning so I knew they weren’t fireworks.

“Immediately there was masses of police activity and we were on the 43rd floor so we had police helicopters hovering just outside the building.”

Eden and Lee also endured a storm.

“We’d bought hotdogs and were on our way back to the hotel when the storm hit,” said Lee. “The weather can change so rapidly like that in New York in winter. By the time we got back to the hotel the wind was blowing so much we could hardly stand up.”

Eden now has to return to New York just one more time in a year for a booster and then all her treatment is complete.

The plan is that the entire family – Eden, Lee, mum Jen and 12-year-old sister Tia – will fly out together on Boxing Day next year and spend Christmas in New York.

 

Eden practising the splits at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York

 

Eden had a scan at Leeds General Infirmary shortly before flying out this December which showed she remains all clear of cancer.

The neuroblastoma Eden was diagnosed with three years ago in April 2021 is a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that has a 40% to 50% chance of long-term survival at diagnosis and affects fewer than 100 children in the UK every year. Scans and tests showed the cancer was in seven places around Eden’s body.

She completed gruelling chemotherapy, had a major nine-hour operation then stem cell treatment involving a 35-day isolation stay in hospital, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. To prevent the cancer returning Eden needed the pioneering Bivalent Vaccine treatment which is only available in New York.

That proved costly but the Huddersfield community rallied round to raise more than half-a-million pounds to fund the treatment. When Eden first started undergoing the treatment she had to fly to New York every few months but as time has gone on there is more space between the appointments.

Eden was given the all-clear from cancer in November 2022 but has had to undergo scans at Leeds General Infirmary every 12 weeks to ensure she’s still clear. She now needs no more scans.

Eden dances twice a week with the Silk School of Dance in Honley and has just taken part in her first competition.

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.

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