An adorable young girl with a rare genetic condition has gone viral on social media after recording cute dance routines with her nurses. Penny Barraclough’s incredible moves and bubbly personality led millions to watch her TikTok clips - as she underwent a stem cell bone marrow transplant in hospital.
The six-year-old was diagnosed with congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT), which left her “head to toe” in bruises and stopped her blood from clotting properly. And after she suffered bone marrow failure, doctors first gave her chemotherapy before she had the transplant operation at Sheffield Children's hospital in September.
But fearless Penny didn’t let the dangerous illness ruin her fun during her six weeks on the ward, and instead recorded videos that won her admirers from as far as Australia. And one of her clips, where she performed a catchy routine with a staff nurse, even racked up nearly eight million views on the social media app.
Penny’s mum Jodie Mangham, 30, who helped her record the videos, said the cheeky little girl had turned a “heart-breaking” situation into a "positive" one. She said: “Doing this brought so much joy. She ended up being in a heart-breaking situation and turning it into something positive.
“She got all the nurses in the hospital involved, and it ended up going viral - everyone fell in love with her. People from America, Australia, Scotland and loads of other places from around the world have sent pictures, and some have sent gifts.
“All these people are strangers to us, but it’s helped because it was a very, very tough time."
Little Penny added: “I love making the videos. They make me happy, and it’s amazing people see them all over the world.”
Full-time mum of two Jodie, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said Penny first fell unwell three years ago, with doctors finding she had low platelet levels in her blood. And during this period, she was left with dozens of bruises from small bumps as her blood vessels weren't able to clot correctly.
Penny went to hospital on September 6 this year after a biopsy showed her bone marrow was failing and further tests revealed she had CAMT, a rare inherited condition. But throughout the six weeks she spent in her hospital room, she began making videos. And it wasn’t long before her infectious joy had spread to people around the world.
Jodie said: “During this time in hospital, we just thought we’d go on TikTok, just because she was in this room for six weeks. The days were very long.
“So we did the videos that brought her lots of joy and kept her active. And then my partner shared them on Twitter, and she went viral.
“Then she got her nurse and teacher in the hospital involved and just continued on TikTok, and that ended up going viral as well – and everybody fell in love with her. Even on the bad days, when she couldn't get out of bed, she could still try and do a TikTok. She just got so much joy from getting everyone else involved.”
Penny’s TikTok account reached new heights when a clip she made with a nurse
to the sound of Sasique's ‘Kute and Neat’ received 7.9 million views. And Jodie said other hospital staff were only too pleased to get involved in creating the adorable footage, which made the sick little girl so happy.
Jodie said: “She did one with a nurse, taking pictures but like a video, and that ended up getting just under 8 million views – and that’s when a lot of followers came in. I’d go down and get some fresh air and come back up, and she’d have three nurses doing TikToks with her.
“Penny fell in love with all the staff, and they all made that experience so much brighter. They’d come and get involved with her because they knew it made her happy."
Both fans and brands from across the world have since reached out to Penny, sending her gifts and messages of support from as far away as Australia. Jodie said: “People have sent head bands because she has lost her hair, and some people have sent Polly Pockets and different bit sand bobs that she loves.
“Weetabix even sent her a personalised box with her name on it, which was really, really nice.”
Penny was finally allowed to go home at the beginning of November, and thankfully, Jodie said the procedure had left her looking like a “new girl”. But she also said Penny - who can’t mix with others for months while her immune system recovers - was missing the fun of dancing with hospital staff.
Jodie said: “It’s like she is a new girl. She looks so healthy, even though she has no immunity. But since she has been home she said he’s missing the nurses. Now we’re at home, it’s just me and Penny.”
Jodie said she was immensely grateful to her family and friends who supported her and raised funds to help her look after her Penny during the three years of her illness. Donations are being accepted to help with the day-to-day care Penny still requires here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/s787n6-penny-rose
