A South Essex teenager has donated a treasured childhood trike to her local hospital, in a heartfelt gesture honouring both her own cancer journey and the memory of her late great-nanny.

Eva Blackwell, 13, was just weeks away from her second birthday when a tumour was discovered. Her planned soft-play birthday party was cancelled, and instead she found herself on the children's ward at Basildon Hospital surrounded by close family and friends.

Determined to make the day as special as possible, hospital staff supported Eva's family by allowing them to use a meeting room and the playroom garden. Among those there was Eva's late great grandmother, Nanny Shirley, who arrived with a Peppa Pig ride-along trike she had been eager to give her.

Eva's mum, Hayley, said: "My late Nanny Shirley absolutely adored Eva, and she couldn't wait to give Eva the trike. A little bit of normality in the middle of complete chaos."

Shortly afterwards, Eva was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she received a diagnosis of neuroblastoma on her second birthday. What followed were 15 months of intensive treatment, including long inpatient stays and extended periods away from home.

Hayley said: "By the time treatment finally ended, the little Peppa Pig bike had never really been used. Recently, while clearing out my nan's belongings, after losing her a few years ago, we found the trike again. Still there. Still almost untouched. Quietly carrying years of love, heartbreak, survival and memory on its little handlebars."

Eva's now grown from a seriously ill toddler into a thriving teenager, so she and her family made the decision to donate the trike to the ward where it was first used, so that other young patients can now enjoy it.

Eva said: "We decided my great nan would want the trike donated back to the children's ward at Basildon Hospital, the very place it was first given to me all those years ago, so that other poorly children can now enjoy it too. You could say the trike has now come full circle."

advertisement