A Moray three-year-old is benefiting from a Christmas charity appeal that is aiming to send 1,500 cuddly bears to children’s cancer wards.
Mara Moyes, from Archiestown, has been sent an early Christmas gift in the form of Charlie the bear from Cancer Support UK to help her face treatment for leukemia.
The charity hopes that the warm and scented teddies will help to make Christmas special for children in hospital and hospices this festive season.
Although the bears are not making their way to new homes until the end of the month, Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital got in touch with the charity to let them know about one little girl who needed a special bear hug right now.
Gemma Holding, CEO of Cancer Support UK, said: “When we heard about this brave little girl, Mara, who has had a really tough ride with cancer, we knew we wanted to do something sooner rather than later.
“So, as our Cuddles bear drop isn’t due to take place until towards the end of December, we decided to send her an early surprise gift in the shape of Charlie, our Cancer Support UK bear ambassador.”
Describing the moment Mara received Charlie the bear, her mum Katy Moyes said nothing beats seeing her little girl’s smile.
She said: “Mara is completely in love with Charlie bear and can’t stop stroking him. Recently she’s been struggling to sleep so his gorgeous lavender scent is a very welcome addition to her bed.”
Hoping for a magical Christmas
Her family say the three-year old is a “happy, cheeky girl” who loves being outside, singing and painting.
“Mara can be found one day flouncing around in a tutu and doing odd jobs in her boiler suit and wellies the next,” Mrs Moyes said.
“And she’s never happier than when she’s sitting chatting with her big brother.”
So when she became subdued and frequently upset, her family knew something was not right.
She continued: “We called our local GP, spoke to our nurse practitioner, were given an appointment, transferred to Elgin and then Aberdeen all in one day. By 11pm that night we’d been told that Mara had leukemia.”
Following a difficult year for the Moyes family, they are looking forward to spending Christmas together.
“Mara has a lot more understanding about Christmas and it holds a lot of excitement this year. We hope it can be as magical as possible for both children,” Mrs Moyes added.
They are hopeful that the three-year-old will soon be able to start maintenance treatment which will help them regain a little bit of normality.
Cancer Support UK is asking people to donate £10 this festive season so they can send 1,500 teddies to hospitals and hospices across the UK.
To donate to the Cuddles for Christmas appeal visit the website here.