‘Little hero’ Kodi laid to rest after tumour battle
FAMILY and friends gathered yesterday afternoon to remember the life of 11-year-old Kodi Brown, who died following a lengthy battle with a brain tumour.
The service of thanksgiving took place at St Mary’s Parish Church, Kilmood, with the burial at the adjoining churchyard, in memory of the Co Down girl who had been diagnosed with the disease in 2018.
In a post on social media following her death on July 23, Kodi’s mum, Gemma, said she was “blessed and honoured to be her mummy for 11 short years”.
She added: “Our family and our community has lost a little hero with so much goodness to offer the world, if only her future had not been denied. Why I have been spared and not her will always burden me.
“She made me proud in abundance.”
Kodi was from Killinchy and had been a pupil at Killinchy Primary School.
The young girl first became ill in February, 2018 while playing at a friend’s house, with an initial diagnosis through her local hospital of a viral infection. After spending three weeks in hospital, she returned home to continue her recovery, but the seizures continued.
A further MRI scan in May, 2018 revealed the devastating news that Kodi had a brain tumour, with no treatment available in the UK on the NHS.
The family endured a long fight to secure treatment for the young girl, with a fundraising campaign having been launched in order to secure pioneering immunotherapy treatment at a specialist clinic in Germany.
On social media, the family requested that donations continue to be made in the memory of Kodi, with the current GoFundMe total sitting at over £167,000.
Kodi is survived by mum, Gemma, dad, Andy, and brother, Blake.