The family of a generous young boy who soldiered on with a smile until the very end has made his dying wish come true.
After George Galbraith was treated for rhabdomyosarcoma at Alder Hey Children's Hospital he told his family, if he survived until Christmas, he wanted to hand out presents to other young patients there. Tragically, the brave 16-year-old, who lived in Halewood, died of the rare cancer on August 16.
Now his family has paid the ultimate tribute to the Halewood Academy Y11 pupil by collecting hundreds of teddies, toys, board games, jigsaws, video games and consoles parcelled up in festive wrapping paper, ready to be opened by delighted Alder Hey patients on Christmas Day.
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His mum Paula Surridge, 43, said: "It's very emotional. George should be here to be a part of this but it's nice to be able to do this in his name, to honour his wishes. We just wish he was here to see it.
"As one person said to me, it's a testament to George. People have been donating because of how wonderful he was and what a lovely boy he was.
"George can rest easy knowing what he's achieved, all the happiness he's created this Christmas. All he ever wanted was to put a smile on peoples faces, especially children. Even when he was younger, the money that was given for him to spend at the Christmas fayre in school he wouldnt spend on himself - he would always want to buy gifts for his family instead."
The presents, which were delivered to Alder Hey on December 20 in preparation for the big day, were paid for with generous donations from the local community. A fundraiser set up by Paula received huge support, smashing its original £3,000 goal and bringing in more than £4,000.
Paula said: "We've reached just under £5,000 altogether, and had an absolute load of toys donated, so it's gone well beyond our expectations.
"It's something we're going to do every year; it will carry on in George's name. After Christmas we're going to register as a proper charity and throughout the year we'll be doing all different things to raise money because, if we can do so well since just November, imagine how much more we can do if we continue throughout the year.
"George would be so pleased. He'd be over the moon. He never asked for anything for himself. He always wanted to share and give, even from when he was little. Just to be able to keep that up for him and honour his wishes brings us some comfort.
"It's very hard for us to smile this Christmas but at least we can put a lot of smiles on other pooly children's faces."
George's aunt Jodie Parker said: "I would like to thank each and every person for making our gorgeous George’s wish come true and for his legacy to become reality we are truly grateful.
"Words honestly can’t describe how much this means to us to be able to make this happen. Our George would have the most beautiful smile on his face and be so proud of what we have been able to achieve to be able to raise so many smiles on the children’s faces this Christmas. Our George is truly loved and missed dearly by us all."
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