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Girl with tumour raises £5,400 for sick children

BBC Ivy smiling and wearing a pink fluffy top and blue headband with a bow sitting in the recording studio of BBC Radio Cumbria. There is a microphone in front of her. BBC
Ivy wants to buy presents and art materials for other children to help them get through hospital treatment

A 10-year-old girl with a brain tumour has raised almost £5,400 to buy hundreds of Christmas presents for other sick children.

Ivy Walsh, from the Wigton area of Cumbria, was diagnosed in July after months of feeling sick and suffering headaches.

The youngster is being treated at Newcastle's Great North Children's Hospital and despite undergoing chemotherapy, her mum Cherry said Ivy was "still smiling".

She said her daughter spent 17 days in hospital and wanted to help other children get through the ordeal by buying toys, games and crafts to help pass the time.

Family photograph Ivy lying in a hospital bed asleep. She is covered with a light-green blanket and there are some tubes around her chest area. Family photograph
Ivy is undergoing chemotherapy at Newcastle's Great North Children's Hospital

Ivy spent hours doing crafts to pass the long hours in hospital and has also raised money to buy art materials for other sick children.

Her mum said her daughter had also spent hours baking, and staff and pupils at her school in Cumbria, had raised money for the cause through bake sales.

The funds have also been used to buy washable toys for the paediatric A&E unit, the children’s day surgery ward and a play kitchen for the children's ophthalmology department.

Family photograph Ivy wearing a colourful top which is brown and green. She is wearing an apron with flowers on it. She is smiling in a kitchen and squeezing an icing bag over two gingerbread cookies on an oven rack. Family photograph
Ivy spends hours baking and icing cakes that can be sold to buy presents for other children being treated in hospital

Ivy's tumour is "low-grade" and slow-growing but could be fatal if not stabilised causing hydrocephalus - a build up of fluid which causes pressure on the brain.

Cherry said: "Ivy has been doing well, all things considered - she’s still smiling.

"She was in hospital recently with a fever, which was worrying as she is vulnerable to infection because of the chemotherapy.

"She has been through so much since July including three surgeries, yet the staff and activities provided have kept her feeling positive against the odds."

Cherry said the family had met so many children going through "extremely difficult times" and seen how much they benefited from donated toys and games.

Family photograph Ivy in a yellow knitted-cardigan with toys in the background. Her arms are outstretched and she is smiling widely. Family photograph
Ivy's family said donated hospital toys got her through the ordeal of her treatment

Ivy's mum said the tumour was inoperable but doctors had told her if stabilised, her daughter could live a "relatively normal life".

She said the family was now looking forward to a Christmas party, during which 200 presents would be handed out to patients.

Family photograph The family are lined up, youngest to oldest - Ivy, sister Lydia, 12, mum Cherry and dad Stuart smiling at the camera beside a lake. There are lots of trees across the water. Family photograph
Doctors say Ivy (first on the left) could live a "relatively normal life" if her tumour is stabilised

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