AT ten years old, little Ellie Lamb spent Christmas 2016 in hospital after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
She was terrified for the future but says one of the things that helped pull her through was the presents she received from Father Christmas.
Which is why today she is urging YOU to help provide gifts for other young cancer patients by taking part in our Christmas cards for Kids campaign.
Buy one of our limited-edition cards — all designed by children — and the proceeds will go towards funding gifts for kids on the wards.
They are on sale now at toy shop The Entertainer, both in store and online at thetoyshop.com.
Ellie, now 17, says: “It’s more than a present, it’s a gift of hope. It made me feel that Santa really cares.
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"It is so tough going through cancer and horrendous for all the family.
“Something as simple as gifts in the hospital made a massive difference. Please buy as many cards as you can.”
Around 1,800 young people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK and they can spend months or even years in hospital.
That is why we have teamed up with charity Children With Cancer UK to take Santa to hospitals throughout the country, loaded up with presents bought with the proceeds from the cards.
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Ellie, from Lowton, Greater Manchester, adds: “Just being in hospital makes you feel like there is nothing to celebrate. It really sucked.
“I had to be in isolation so it meant I could only have one visitor at a time. I couldn’t see my two brothers and sister and I wasn’t sure how
Santa was supposed to be able to see me. It’s the worst time to be in hospital, it’s awful.”
Ellie is now living life to the full, studying for A-levels in criminology and sociology and a BTech in law.
But aged nine, she had six months of intensive chemotherapy at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital followed by a successful bone marrow transplant in summer 2016.
On Christmas Eve that year, then ten, she developed a temperature and was taken back in to hospital.
Her mum Kate says: “We took a little pink Christmas tree and lights with us because she had to be in isolation.
“Ellie asked if Father Christmas would know she was in hospital and would he drop her presents there.”
She was thrilled when he did.
Kate adds: “Financially, we were lucky because our employers were very good with us. But we met so many people who couldn’t work while their children were in hospital and money was tight.
“They can’t make Christmas happen because they have no money left.”
Ellie, who was given the all-clear in 2017, adds: “Every Christmas is special now, even though life is, thankfully, back to normal.”
- Buy cards at any of the 170 The Entertainer stores or at thetoyshop.com.
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