Tunbridge Wells girl crochets bunting for each chemotherapy round
A 10-year-old is crocheting a bunting triangle for every week of her chemotherapy to raise funds for cancer research.Doctors told Kirsty in November that she had a brain tumour, which was causing her to lose her eyesight and memory.The girl, from Tunbridge Wells, is currently undergoing 70 weeks of chemotherapy and took on the bunting challenge in support of Children with Cancer UK. Her mum Kate told BBC Radio Kent: "We try and be as positive as we can and I think this is the most positive thing we can possibly do."
Kirsty said she was taught to crochet by a family friend last year and had been learning from different YouTube tutorials since.She has crocheted 44 of the 70 "unique" triangles so far and will hang the completed bunting in her local cafe initially, then move it to her hospital ward.Her Crochet for Cancer campaign has already raised more than £9,000 for the charity, and the 10-year-old wants to deliver leaflets about her work "to most of the houses in Kent".Kate said: "It's just so nice to see that the response from the community so far has been fantastic."It really boosts us, because it's going to be a long road ahead."
After her diagnosis Kirsty was hospitalised for two weeks to have a chunk of the tumour, which she has named Terry, surgically removed.She said her chemotherapy symptoms "aren't too bad" and her memory and sight have returned."Because I've had experience of it, I feel more sympathy to even worse stories than my story," she added.Mum Kate said as a parent she felt "helpless" and she just had to "trust in the NHS, who have been wonderful".
'Search for normality'
Kirsty's father Mat said the day they got the diagnosis was "pretty gruesome" and described Kirsty's time in hospital as "some of the lowest points we've had as parents"."You are sleeping on a roll-out bed alongside your daughter, listening to the beeps and the noises all through the night, just looking at her and willing her to get better," he said.Things started to look up once Kirsty returned home, he added, saying the whole family tries to "search for normality, no matter how much medical stuff is going on".He said: "Everyone said to us 'just take it day by day', which is easy advice to give but very hard to follow."You're wondering about where they are going to go to school, what they are going to do, and who are they going to be."This condition has forced us to focus on what we can do today, this week, this month to enjoy ourselves as much as we can."
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