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The grateful parents of a young girl diagnosed with a brain tumour are raising money for the Sheffield hospital that saved their daughter’s life.

Benj and Sarah Hemingway have set up a GoFundMe appal to raise money for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and the brain cancer charity Brainstrust. Their daughter, Ivy Hemingway, now aged six, was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening brain tumour in 2021. “What the hospital has done for us is priceless. Ivy wouldn’t be here without them,” Mrs Hemingway told The Star.

Initially dismissed after suffering headaches which made her vomit, Ivy was rushed to Sheffield Children’s Hospital where she received her first round of life-saving surgery just hours after she arrived. Ivy’s parents were told their daughter would have died in a matter of hours if she hadn’t received the treatment. After two more rounds of surgery and undergoing partial skull removal, her tumour was removed.

“We have been blown away by everyone’s kindness and the care we received has been outstanding. From the consultants to the cleaners, the entire hospital got us through a horrific time for our family,” said Ivy’s parents. Having already raised almost £7,000, they want to raise money so that other children are able to receive such high-quality care.

Ivy Hemingway, now aged six, would have died within hours without undergoing surgery at Sheffield Children's Hospital after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Her grateful parents are trying to raise money for the hospital

The scanner used during Ivy’s treatments, known as an intro-operative MRI scanner and worth over £2 million, was bought by the hospital through funds raised by The Children’s Hospital Charity. “During the last agonising 18 months, being good to others and helping other families with sick children has kept us going and given us huge joy and comfort,” Mrs Hemingway told the Star.

Mrs Hemingway hopes to raise enough money to fund the renovation of some of the children’s wards, a few of which she said were ‘run-down’ and ‘clinical’. She is also hoping to raise funds for Brainstrust, where Ivy’s father received counselling throughout Ivy’s journey. With three of his closest friends, Mr Hemingway will be participating in a half marathon endurance race known as the ‘Beast Spartan race’ on August 13.

Ivy was sadly left with severe brain damage and will continue to regularly visit the Sheffield Children’s Hospital. After a scan revealed the return of her brain tumour in January, Ivy will receive specialist treatment at The Christie in Manchester.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital: Girl, 6, would have died within hours from brain tumour without surgery