Smile that’s the greatest Christmas present ever
FOR brave Holly Hutchings, it will be the best possible Christmas gift – spending the festive season at home with her family after successfully battling a rare form of cancer.
After months of gruelling treatment, i ncluding 23 rounds of chemotherapy, the four- year- old is gleefully looking forward to celebrating the big day with her parents, who describe her as their ‘little Christmas miracle’.
Holly’s mother Sarah, 28, said: ‘ This Christmas will be very
‘She always had a smile on her face’
emotional for us. The whole ordeal has made us cherish every precious moment we have. She has been the one who has kept us going, smiling and laughing.’
The family, from Kingswinford, West Midlands, saw their world turned upside down last Christmas Eve when Holly woke in the early hours suffering from pain in her stomach and back. Sarah and her husband Kyle, 31, an accountant, rushed her t o hospital. Tests revealed Holly had an infection and she was sent home with antibiotics.
Sarah said: ‘She spent Christmas Day crying in pain. It wasn’t the dream family Christmas I had hoped for.’
Finally, an ultrasound scan in March revealed Holly had a Wilms’ tumour on her right kidney that was pushing her stomach up into her lungs, causing her left kidney to double in size to keep her alive. This type of cancer affects about 80 children in Britain every year.
Holly had a seven-hour operation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital to remove her right kidney.
She also had to endure 27 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy, which caused allergic reactions and severe sickness.
Sarah, who gave up her job as a business development manager to care for her daughter, said: ‘Throughout it all, she always had a smile on her face and she would enjoy painting while she stayed on the ward.’
To mark the end of her treatment, the youngster was allowed to ring a bell on the ward in celebration of her bravery. Sarah said: ‘It signalled a new chapter for us as a family.’
Although Holly is now in remission, it will take six months for her immune system to recover. She has started school part-time and visited Santa in Lapland thanks to the Make-A-Wish charity.
Sarah, who also has a one-yearold son called Joshua, said: ‘Holly is very excited for Christmas. She has asked Santa for a new bike.’
Sarah and Kyle are now increasing awareness of childhood cancers with the help of charities such as the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust, and are raising money designing and selling T-shirts.