A County Durham family is facing a desperate fight to keep their little girl alive after she was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.
At just four-years-old, Sophia Shaw has already fought brain cancer since the age of three.
But now she is facing another battle after doctors discovered a lesion growing at the bottom of her spine - just four weeks after being given the 'all clear'.
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Now her parents, Tracy and Matt, from Carrville, are doing everything they can to help their daughter have a long and happy life.
Matt, 39, said: "We try not to tell Sophia much about what's happening because we don't want to worry her or make her paranoid. We want her to live as normal a life as possible."
He added: "She's got such a unique personality and she's so caring.
"If she sees a leaf on the ground she thinks it's poorly or it has lost its family and we have to pick it up and look after it until we find some other leaves to take care of it.
"She loves dancing too. She'll sometimes have a little tumble but she just gets up and carries on."
Sophia's cancer was discovered days after returning from a family camping holiday around Wales in August 2020.
She had started to complain of a headache during the holiday, but shortly after the family returned home Sophia's health took a turn for the worse.
The usually bubbly little girl became unresponsive and limp and Matt and Tracy rushed her straight to University Hospital of North Durham knowing something was seriously wrong.
Upon arrival, Sophia was treated for meningitis, but Matt says it became increasingly clear that something else was causing her to become unwell.
Doctors agreed to send Sophia for an MRI scan and soon discovered an aggressive tumour slightly smaller than a golf ball in Sophia's cerebellum, located at the back of the brain.
The family were rushed to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) and within one hour they were greeted by a team of medical staff who scheduled surgery for Sophia.
Matt said: "The risks and figures were popping out of the doctor's mouths just like air bubbles.
"There is a 15% chance of this, 25% chance of this, 35% chance of this, and even 10% chance of the 'worst'.
"This was the toughest day of our lives. The cliché stands where we would have traded places in a nano-second, ten times over."
After a successful surgery, Sophia was out of hospital within a week.
In December, she attended a routine scan and within an hour were told that the results looked positive and Sophia's scans were clear, which came as a huge relief to the family.
Matt added: "We had a really lovely Christmas that year because at that stage things were as positive as they could have been."
But four weeks later they received an unexpected call from a consultant to say that a 'spot' had been noticed on her spine.
Another scan revealed that a lesion had developed in the bottom of Sophia's spine.
It looked aggressive and as it was back so quick it was feared that it would prove fatal.
Mum Tracy, 33, said: "Since Sophia was diagnosed our life has been a rollercoaster, there's been so many ups and downs.
"Consultants seemed really happy with the results of Sophia's scan and said that there had been minimal damage caused.
"So when we got that call four weeks later to say that something had been spotted on the scan it was a complete shock, we weren't expecting it at all.
"It was awful because we were expecting to hear the next steps to treat Sophia.
"But we were basically told that we had come to the end of the road now and there wasn't much more that could be done."
Doctors offered to treat Sophia with radiotherapy and surgery.
But after hours of research, Matt and Tracy decided to seek alternative therapies in the hope of giving their little girl the best childhood possible.
Matt said: "I'm prepared to dedicate my life to giving Sophia the best possible chance.
"We've spent hours researching different options. I've sold my car and my motorbike and her mum has given up her job to be by her side while she was in hospital."
The family, who is also caring for their newborn daughter Delilah who is due to come home from hospital this week, is now set up a GoFundMe page to help fund High Dose Vitamin C, which Sophia will receive intravenously on a weekly basis.
She will also continue weekly bio-resonance at the Centre in York, which uses a machine to measure the frequency of energy wavelengths coming from the body.
Those measures are then used to diagnose disease and some say it can also cure certain diseases, although this has not been scientifically proven.
Matt added: "The bio-resonance has helped to reduce inflammation in Sophia's body and since she's been receiving it she hasn't been sick. Before bio-resonance she was being sick every morning and it was really affecting her."
The family also plan to schedule dendritic cell therapy in Spain, Holland or UK after Spring 2022, once they feel Sophia is strong enough and her immune system has been built up.
And finally, the family is fundraising for an infrared sauna which Sophia can sit in with her mum for up to five minutes three times a week.
Matt added: "We're willing to throw our all into this. We've discovered there's so many alternative therapies out there and who knows, we might discover a new ground-breaking treatment along the way."
To donate towards Sophia's treatment visit 'Sophia's next chapter' fundraiser via this link.
