A dad has told of his heartbreak after a trip to the dentist turned his family's world upside down.
George McGovern, 39 and Joanne Sergeant, 34, both from Runcorn, welcomed their daughter Ellie-Mae in October 2022, with her dad describing her as "absolutely beautiful" and "such a smiler". However, only weeks ago, George noticed something wasn't right.
The 39-year-old told the ECHO: "It started when I spotted a molar tooth that was much larger than Ellie's other teeth and I thought: 'that's not normal'. It was around this time that Ellie started to get cranky and only wanted her mum.
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"We took her to the dentist and they told us she had an adult molar. Over the next week it became wobbly and fell out – there was black underneath it. The dentist told us to take her to the A&E so we went to Warrington Hospital and, after a biopsy on her back, doctors diagnosed her with neuroblastoma, stage four. The news devastated us."
Ellie, who is only 15 months old, is now fighting for her life with cancer cells in her jaw, face, stomach and bones. Currently in the care of Alder Hey Children's Hospital, she is battling an infection to her mouth before doctors can administer chemotherapy.
George says she is "a shell of her former self", adding: "She was the most bubbly little girl and was such a smiler – unless you were new to her, then she might give you a little cry!
"She had a lovely Christmas and was even beginning to start walking, now she's got tubes everywhere and she's really poorly. We're in shock and it's turned our worlds upside down. We won't give up on her."
George and Joanne have felt the full support of their community since they received the devastating news, with George saying: "Everyone's coming together for us, organising raffles and showing their support – our taxi driver isn't even charging to take us to the hospital. We're so grateful and appreciative, and we just want our daughter back and better."
Family friend Lyn Rider even set up a GoFundMe for Ellie-Mae and her family, which can be found by clicking here.
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