A loving schoolgirl has collected over 500 Easter eggs that she plans to donate to the Neo-natal unit and the Children's ward at Gloucester Royal Hospital and the James Hopkins Trust in memory of her baby brother.
Ellie Spackman, aged eight, visits the hospital and local charity every year with her parents Charlene and Ashley Spackman, both 34, and always donates chocolate eggs to children in need as a way to "give back" to the people who supported her family when her little brother Arthur was hospitalised.
Arthur passed away in 2019 at the age of two after being diagnosed with a very rare genetic terminal condition called Non-Ketotic Hyperglycinemia [NKH] when he was 10 days old.
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Gloucester Royal Hospital and the James Hopkins Trust - which provides respite for life-limited and threatened children - helped care for Arthur, and his big sister Ellie is now eager to do what she can to give back and show her appreciation for their hard work.
Charlene explained: "Since Arthur's death, Ellie has wanted to give back to the people who supported her when her brother was in their care. Ellie likes to help others like her brother and their siblings as she was helped when Arthur was in the hospital.
"We have been donating Easter eggs since 2019. It started off with donating selection boxes at Christmas and thought we would do the same at Easter.
"Ellie loves being involved, she will help us load up the car and help give them out to the hospital, she knows the nurses and they are familiar faces to Ellie. She is doing it in memory of her brother.
"It is so lovely to see the effect it has on children in the hospital. They are for the children who are in hospital, and siblings who are visiting, just like Ellie did."
This year marks the family's fourth time donating Easter eggs, and already have over 500 eggs stored in their house ready to donate to children when the time comes later this month.
Charlene added: "It is just our way of saying thank you. We do this to remember our little boy.
"A lot of local companies donate Easter eggs to us, and over the years it has grown, and now some local companies donate over 50 eggs to us.
"We already have over 500 eggs, and that's just what's in our house. We have stacked them all up in Arthur's room ready to be delivered next week before Easter Sunday."
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