An island community has rallied to help a baby as she undergoes lifesaving cancer treatment.
Catherine Macleod, whose parents hail from Lewis, was six months old when she was diagnosed with leukaemia in May.
Since then, she has undergone a number of gruelling intense chemotherapy sessions and regular blood transfusions as an inpatient at Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children.
Doctors have yet to decide if she requires a bone marrow transplant.
The toddler is likely to remain in hospital until the end of the year and to travel for outpatient day care treatment on the mainland for up to three years.
The Barvas and Brue Youth Cafe is organising a soup and pudding fundraiser in the Barvas Hall on Saturday – and a fundraising page has raised over £2,000, beating its target.
The money raised will go towards supporting the Macleod family. Parents Louise and Innes said the news of their daughter’s illness was “devastating.”
The family said: “Catherine’s big sister, Emily, is not allowed to visit because Catherine is at high risk of infection which has been very hard as Emily misses her little sister terribly.
“Catherine is doing amazingly well considering everything her wee body is going through and we couldn’t be prouder of our little fighter and her big sister.”
A fundraising webpage has been set up at www.justgiving.com.
It reads: “(Catherine) still has a long journey ahead of her and we as a community are looking to show our support. We are setting up this page for anyone who cannot attend the fundraiser but wants to donate money.”
On the page, the family explains: “On May 2, 2017, after taking our six-month-old baby girl to the doctor as a rash had appeared on her body, we were given the devastating news that our little Catherine has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). She was admitted to hospital immediately and started on intense chemotherapy. She has now been in the Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children for 4 months and it looks like we will be here for a further 2-3 months with outpatient daycare treatment for 2-3 years after she gets home.
“She needs regular blood transfusions as the chemotherapy kills all the good and bad blood cells. Catherine has just completed her 3rd round of chemotherapy and within 2-3 weeks we will find out if she requires a bone marrow transplant.”