An Ayrshire mum has been left 'completely overwhelmed' after the community rallied to raise over £3,000 to send her daughter on a dream trip to Blackpool following a shock brain tumour diagnosis.
Mum Jackie Dunlop was left gobsmacked after a businessman, two football teams, and generous online donors raised £3,836 to send her daughter Ava, 10, to her favourite place in the world, Blackpool.
Around £3,000 of this total will be going towards Ava's trip and the remaining figure – raised from the charity football match – will be going to aid another youngster in the town
Brave Kilwinning girl Ava Nelson was diagnosed with glioma, an incurable brain tumour, in June.
Since the shock diagnosis, wee Ava has undergone a brain operation to alleviate the swelling alongside six weeks of intense radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Businessman and owner of GRO Coffee in Irvine and Ayr Gordon Rennie donated a whopping £2,500 to the Pennyburn Primary schoolgirl's online fundraiser and two Saltcoats football teams played a charity match at Ardeer Thistle's stadium on Saturday.
Proud mum Jackie said: "I'm completely overwhelmed at how the community has gathered together to help us make memories with Ava.
"My partner Eddie Renor manages Bobby's Bar AFC and his team played against The Crown Inn on Saturday to raise money to send the family to Blackpool.
"He wasn't too happy because The Crown Inn won but I'm thankful to everyone who went along and helped raise even more on top of our goal.
"Gordon Rennie from GRO donated £2,500 to the page after learning of Ava. I'm just gobsmacked at how the community has rallied around us at this time.
"I can't thank them all enough and I'd like to say a special thank you to Stuart Roy who started the charity matches in 2019 in memory of his nephew Alfie Curran who died after living with cerebral palsy."
Doctors are expected to meet with the family to discuss the next steps for Ava from tomorrow.
"I feel like it's not real," added Jackie.
"It just all feels like a dream and it can't be happening.
"It was devastating when we got Ava's diagnosis but we're just taking it one day at a time. What else can you do?
"For a while, Ava had been feeling unwell but doctors just fobbed it off as a viral infection — eventually she was given a scan and it revealed the worst.
"Ava's been so brave throughout everything and we're hoping we can arrange to go to Blackpool in October if she's feeling up to it.
"I've been taking Ava to Blackpool since she was wee, she's a thrill seeker and loves the rollercoasters at Pleasure Beach and is most looking forward to spending time there with her sisters."
If you would like to donate to Ava's cause, please visit her online fundraiser here.
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