Talk about the power of word of mouth. Ok, so even though those words are virtual, the power packs no less of a punch. She may not be a pop star and her last name isn't even Kardashian. But at just five years old, Niamh Curry has over 13,200 followers on Twitter, and the social media goliath just might save her life—in 140 characters or less.
Little Niamh, who suffers from a rare cancer known as neuroblastoma, which attacks the nerves, needs a treatment only available in the U.S.. The only problem: that treatment costs a whopping £450,000 (around CD$700,000).
When all else failed in the UK, Niamh's mum Samantha, dad Chris, and 7-year-old sister Hannah did what any family would do in their shoes. They, uh, tweeted.
"We continued with Niamh's chemotherapy to buy time," says her dad, Chris, 39, "but we stayed up night after night trying to raise awareness on Twitter."
To their surprise, donations started to pour in. UK celebs such as pop star Jessie J and TV host Jonathan Ross helped spread the message.
Comedian Jason Manford also donated £1,000. I don't know how much has been raised so far, but Alison Moy, of the Neuroblastoma Alliance UK, said time is of the essence. "Niamh's treatment needs to start by summer. It's a race against time."
You can donate or join tweet till your heart's content on @niamhsnextstep.
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