Seven-year-old cancer survivor's gift to future child patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

A seven-year-old girl who battled a rare brain tumor emptied her piggy bank to pay for a bell for other cancer survivors to ring at the end of their treatment at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
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Skye Brierley, of Belvere Avenue, donated £150 of her own money to the hospital after recovering from rhabdomyosarcoma.

Her mum Ruth said: “She got to ring a bell at Manchester Royal but she said ‘I wish I could have rung the bell in Blackpool’, but there wasn’t one. They only had one in the adult oncology ward.

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“So we said ‘why don’t we fund a bell in the children’s ward?’ She was really keen to do that, but it could only be for the children who had had a long-term illness.

Skye BrierleySkye Brierley
Skye Brierley

“She tipped all the money out of her piggy bank. We asked if she was sure that’s what she wanted to spend her money on and she said ‘yes’!”

Isabel Spencer, child health matron at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are really grateful to Skye for everything she has done for us.

“It’s a wonderful gesture that will really make a difference to the unit and really help bring a smile to everyone’s faces.’’

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Skye was diagnosed with cancer when she was just four years old and has received treatment in Blackpool and Manchester, as well as advanced protom beam therapy in Florida.

Blackpool Vic staff with the bell Skye donatedBlackpool Vic staff with the bell Skye donated
Blackpool Vic staff with the bell Skye donated

She has been free from complications for almost two years, but will never be given the ‘all clear’ due to scar tissue left over from her treatment.

Ruth said: “There will always be evidence of the cancer but Skye is so positive. She can get tired and her legs hurt, but she is such a kind girl and a real character.”

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