Mini marvels had a super time for brave Wigan schoolgirl

Evie-Mai Griffiths and mum Rebecca organised the charity fun day in aid of Alder Hey, where the six-year-old is being treated for a Wilms tumour on her kidney.

Pupils and teachers at Nicol Mere School in Ashton transformed into the likes of Batman, Superman and even Evie-Mai’s favourite Iron Man to help donate cash and toys.

Other news: Free dog waste bags scrapped to save cashHer mum Rebecca said she felt compelled to give back, after being overwhelmed with the support for the hospital when having to look after not just Evie-Mai, but also her three other young children Leo, Isaac and Scarlet.

“You can never understand or prepare for what you see there,” the 25-year-old said.

“You never realise all that happens to children and babies. Whenever you come here, you always leave with gifts and presents, not just for Evie but for my other children too.

“But we know it’s only possible because of donations, so Evie wanted to do something about it.”

Rebecca also revealed the shocking moment of discovering her brave daughter was battling kidney cancer last August.

“She’d been quite tired since January, but I had put it down to starting reception and going back to school after Christmas. But by the time of the summer holidays, she was playing out again as normal.

“Then one night, she woke up screaming. My first thought was that her appendix had burst. It was a scream I had never heard before. We gave her calpol and she seemed to settle.”

But when Evie-Mai took a turn for the worst, she was taken for X-rays and ultrasounds, which revealed the heartbreaking truth that she had a large mass covering the entire right side of her body.

Rebecca said: “In a million years, I don’t think I ever could have believed that was what they were going to tell me. I don’t really remember the thought process I was going through in those first hours.”

She also revealed the difficulties of comprehending telling her daughter that she had cancer.

“It was a very difficult thing. You’ll never prepare for it,” she said. “But she has got on with it very well. She’s just taken it all on the chin, she lets the doctors poke and prod her all the time.”

When asked about why Evie-Mai wanted a superhero day, Rebecca said: “She’s not very girly! If I show her a dress, she just looks at me like ‘what is that?’

“All the nurses were surprised when she said she was dressing as Iron Man. She also likes football, loves Liverpool FC and playing on her iPad.”