Friends and family of a brave little Bury girl who died after suffering with a heart disorder have launched an appeal to give her the funeral she deserves.
Isla Hutton died at the Royal Bolton Hospital aged six last month after battling rare and serious disorder, Long QT syndrome, which affects how the heart beats.
Isla, who had a particularly severe form of the disorder, spent much of her time in hospital, including as a cardiology patient at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool
Her dad Dave gave up his career as a teacher to care for his daughter full-time when she was a baby, and is now faced with losing his carer's benefit.
As a result, his loved ones are hoping to ease the financial stress of organising her funeral.
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Dave’s friend Claire Lewis, whose son also lives with Long QT, says the government provides a grant towards children’s funerals, but the amount isn’t enough to give Isla the send-off she deserves.
Claire said: “I think [Dave] wants a service that’s really personal to Isla, she really liked toys that light up and spinny toys so we want everyone to bring a toy.
“As far as a funeral goes, it’s not anything over the top, it’s to fund a second car, the coffin we want for her.
“There’s going to be a church service just for close family and the wake is going to be at Radcliffe FC.”
As Dave is a big Bury AFC fan, the team dedicated a match to Isla last month following her death.
"The team held a minute’s silence for the little girl while fans held a banner with her name on it.
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Claire says that that although Isla missed out on a lot while she was in hospital, she was brave and stayed positive during treatment.
She added: “It would be easy to forget what she was battling with, because she never let it show, she would show up with the biggest smile on her face.”
Claire estimates the cost of the funeral will be around £4,000 but any surplus money donated to the fundraiser (click here to view) will go towards helping Dave create a legacy for Isla to help other children and raise awareness of the disorder.
She said: “We want to just pull together and try and make a really horrible time a bit easier for him.”
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