A delighted teen celebrated as a fundraising page she set up for life-saving cancer treatment for her best friend smashed its £300,000 (~$390,000) target - in just one week.
Lillie Cotgrove, 13, was "devastated" when her best pal Lily Wythe, 14, was diagnosed four months ago with the deadliest type of childhood cancer.
The survival prognosis for Lily's condition - a high-grade diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) - is just eight to 12 months.
Wythe family / SWNS
So when Lily's parents found "promising" clinical trials for her cancerous brain tumor in Seattle, Lillie was determined to do what she could to help her friend.
Schoolgirl Lillie squealed with delight as her fundraising page, The One Pound Warriors, reached its £300,000 target - just a week after she created it on Facebook.
Paul Davey / SWNS
The One Pound Warriors - which asks for a voluntary £1 donation from all its members - has received a host of celebrity endorsements including Jonathan Ross, Rachel Riley, and Gemma Collins.
The Facebook page was set up by Lillie and her mum Sarah last Thursday (January 16), and its 134,000 members have helped to raise £230,000 (~$300,000) in just seven days.
This total was added to £78,000 (~$100,000) raised by a separate GoFundMe page, which was set up nine weeks ago in November 2019.
And when Lillie was told that her fundraising page had reached its target, she squealed with excitement, before hugging dad Mark and becoming visibly emotional.
Paul Davey / SWNS
Speaking from her home in Benfleet, Essex, England, Lillie said:
"It's absolutely incredible what's been achieved. I did this because I really wanted to help Lily, and at the start I felt a bit like I couldn't help her."
"But then I set up the Facebook page, and lots of people started helping, and now, we're going to get Lily to the U.S. to get a clinical trial done," she added.
And her proud dad Mark, beaming at his daughter's achievement, said:
"It's just incredible, really. I couldn't be prouder of my daughter.
"All of this was borne out of the helplessness of the situation, and wanting to help her dear friend - and look what's been achieved. She's going to get out there to Seattle. It's amazing."
Wythe family / SWNS
Lillie also added her thanks to national charity Brain Tumor Research, who have helped the two girls spread the word about The One Pound Warriors.
"Brain Tumor Research has helped us so much," said Lillie.
And Lily's emotional mom Diana Wythe said:
"Lily and I never imagined we would manage to raise the £300,000, or that it would happen so quickly. Lily is blown away by it all."
"We can't believe there are so many people out there who have been touched by Lily, with people giving away precious savings or even their wages and children their pocket money."
"I want people to rest assured that any donations not needed for Lily, will be given to charity. We aren't making any money out of this."
Diana added:
"Lily had a scan on Sunday and we will get the results next week, which can then be sent to Seattle Children's Hospital to find out what the next move is. This has happened so quickly, we haven't even had the chance to get our visas ready, so that needs to happen fast."
Paul Davey / SWNS
Lillie's fundraising efforts for her friend have touched people's hearts around the world, with many members of The One Pound Warriors nominating her for a Pride of Britain Award.
The parents of both teenagers have been overwhelmed by the "phenomenal" response, which has included retweets and messages from British celebrities including Jonathan Ross, Gemma Collins, and Keith Lemon.
Jonathan Ross shared the fundraising page on Saturday to his five million Twitter followers, writing:
"If any of you feel like joining me in chipping in I know it would be appreciated."
Wythe family / SWNS
And Gemma Collins shared the page on Sunday to her 1.3 million followers, writing:
"Have a read, share and donate if you can."
Hugh Adams, head of stakeholder relations at Brain Tumor Research, said:
"This is the most extraordinary achievement. Huge congratulations to Lillie and everyone who has got involved with The One Pound Warriors."
"Our hearts go out to the family of Lily Wythe as they start preparing for further treatment which they had been told by doctors in the UK wasn't possible. It is just not acceptable that families who have loved ones affected by brain tumors are sent home and told to make memories."
"On behalf of us all at Brain Tumor Research, I would like to wish Lily and her family all the very best," he added.
Paul Davey / SWNS
Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.