Fundraising News
A Kent family is raising funds for their 18-month-old daughter who has ‘Cri du Chat’ syndrome.
12 Nov 2025
Margo Smith, 18 months, who lives in Coxheath, Kent, didn’t cry when she was born and instead made only small whimpering sounds. However her parents Emma, 33 and Kyle, 34, were advised that there was nothing to worry about and they were sent home.
Mum Emma said: ‘Margo struggled with feeding and continued to lose weight. We were referred to the paediatrician at the hospital, who told us Margo had “failure to thrive” and appears “floppy” for a child her age.
‘She also told us that Margo had a single palmer crease on one of her hands but was otherwise seemingly healthy.
‘I had never heard of having only one line on your hand and despite my better judgment, I decided to consult “Doctor Google”. A syndrome called “5P Minus”, also known as “Cri Du Chat” was a possible cause. This was a result of damage or a permanent deletion to the 5th chromosome. The symptoms and characteristics of this is on a spectrum and vary from person to person, but sounded like Margo to a tee.’
The family pushed for genetic testing and three weeks later received a diagnosis of the condition, which is believed to affect between one in 20,000 to 50,000 live births in the UK.
"We were referred to physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and the dietician. Margo is still small for her age, and although doing amazingly, she has developmental delay. She is almost 18 months old and cannot sit independently, crawl or walk. Despite all of this, Margo is the most perfect, beautiful, happy, smiley little girl who means the world to us. She loves to kick, giggle, be outside and play with her toys, especially musical ones. She’s absolutely gorgeous."
Margo's mum
The family is now raising money for therapy and equipment for Margo. Cri de Chat is a spectrum syndrome so it is currently unclear exactly how Margo is likely to be affected in the future.
Emma added: ‘We know how important early intervention is for children with Cri Du Chat syndrome and we want to give Margo the best chance of reaching her full potential. However, the cost of all these therapies to help her is unfortunately just not something we can afford.
Our dream is for her is to be able to run around and play with her brothers, and live the most independent life possible.’
The family has already raised more than £3000 in just three weeks, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, donations from both anonymous donors and Maidstone Rugby Club where Kyle is a coach.
Emma added: ‘A private physio session ranges in price from £80-£95 an hour. Along with hydrotherapy, osteopaths, private speech and language therapy as well as the sensory and learning equipment, it all totals unimaginable costs.
Our goal of £25k is to enable access to therapies for Margo to help her learn to walk, talk and achieve her full potential.’
‘We are incredibly grateful for every penny donated, all of which will help Margo achieve as much mobility and independence as possible. She is likely to need therapy for a long time so fundraising will be ongoing. We have a few events in the pipeline, including ‘Margo’s March’ next year, details TBC!
The family is being supported by children’s charity Tree of Hope, which helps families raise money for children and young people like Margo for medical treatments and healthcare services not freely available to them through the NHS and social care. The charity provides fundraising guidance, campaign development, financial management, charity registration and emotional support from the Family Support team. Families like Margo’s benefit from gift aid, corporate support while also providing donor reassurance.
"We wish Margo and her family all the best with their fundraising activities. We are pleased to be supporting them to give them the support in reaching their fundraising goals."
CEO
To find out more about Margo or contribute to her fund, visit https://www.treeofhope.org.uk/get-involved/childrens-campaigns/margos-story/
