Battling Grace Ann given a limo treat | Northern Echo Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET

A BRAVE little girl who battled through 18 months of chemotherapy was treated to a great surprise last night.

Grace Ann Kemp, who finished the intensive treatment in February, was taken to see her pop favourites Westlife in style – driven in a limousine.

Grace Ann was born with neurofibromatosis, or Nf1, a genetic condition affecting the skin and nervous system which causes tumours to grow around the body.

The six-year-old, from Ushaw Moor, near Durham City, underwent a bone transplant at the age of two, and was diagnosed with a brain tumour shortly after her third birthday.

via Battling Grace Ann given a limo treat | Northern Echo Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET.

Karen to walk for mum Anne (From The Northern Echo)

A WOMAN is to tackle a sponsored walk in aid of a hospice which transformed her mother’s quality of life.

Karen Dobson noticed a marked improvement in her mother Anne Nixon’s health after she began visiting St Cuthbert’s Hospice, in Durham, in December.

Mrs Nixon, 65, from Bearpark, near Durham, has suffered two heart attacks and her condition worsened in March 2009.

Mrs Dobson, from Ushaw Moor, said: “Apart from her frequent trips to hospital, mum wasn’t able to leave her house for nine months.

“Within a few days at the hospice, mum was literally glowing. It was an astonishing improvement.”

Mrs Nixon said: “I can’t put into words how much the hospice has helped me – I feel like a person again. Knowing that I can come back here in a few months will keep me going.”

Mrs Dobson will take part in the ladies-only Midnight Walk for St Cuthbert’s Hospice on Saturday, June 19, in Aykley Heads, Durham.

Organisers hope 1,000 women will take up the challenge.

Registration costs £10 per person, plus sponsorship. For more information, call Rachel Jobson on 0191-386-1170 or visit stcuthbertshospice.com The closing date for entries is Sunday, May 23.

via Karen to walk for mum Anne (From The Northern Echo).