THE family of a brave young cancer survivor has spearheaded a campaign to boost facilities at Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Children’s ward.
Six-year-old Skye Brierley was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer when she was four years old and received treatment at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Manchester Royal and even in the United States.
Skye’s mum, Ruth said: “When Skye received treatment at Blackpool, she would often use the playroom and want to play games, but sometimes there were bits missing.
“I set up a Facebook page about Skye’s journey and asked for donations for board games and have been completely overwhelmed by the response!
“Skye spent a lot of time at Blackpool if her temperature would flare would climb above 38C and she was in isolated care so it was really important for her to have interaction with games.
“Her treatment took a year overall with chemotherapy and radiotherapy taking place in Florida due to how rare the radiotherapy was.
“We are now one year out of the treatment and it has been such a rollercoaster for all of us. We are keeping positive and waiting for some news from the specialists.
“Skye is blind in her left eye, her left tear duct no longer produces tears and she has lost high frequency hearing in her left ear.
“When she was in hospital she loved playing games and we are so pleased to be bringing a smile to children who now have so many choices to pick from.
“People’s generosity amazes me and we are so thankful to them to be able to donate these gifts to children who deserve it.”
Dawn Geraghty, Play Specialist added: “We are always so grateful to all the donations we receive.
“The games will make a huge difference to our children and families and it’s lovely for us to have so many new and fun ways to interact with the children in the playroom.”