The heartbroken family of a fun-loving young girl who suddenly died of a brain tumour said they have lost their "beautiful little diva".
Evie-Leigh Cormack, 11, had dreams of becoming a paramedic, but tragically died from an aggressive cancer weeks after being told she was unwell.
The youngster was excitedly looking forward to starting secondary school when her family learned the harrowing news, TeessideLive report.
Her parents said she started developing headaches, sickness, double vision, and a loss of balance. They quickly booked a doctors' appointment.
After investigation, medics dealt the devastating blow she had a terminal malignant brain tumour.
Known for her 'sass', Evie-Leigh bravely battled her condition, but sadly died this week in Newcastle's RVI Hospital.
Evie-Leigh, whose parents said always wanted to help others, loved nothing more than spending time with her family - mum, Perri-Leigh Littler, 29, dad Matthew Cormack, 31, sister Lillie, 10, and four-year-old brother, Matthew.
They have been left broken by her death, along with the rest of her family and friends.
Her parents said thankfully their daughter, who loved shopping, cinema and caring for the family's five dogs, managed to go to her new school for an hour to spend time with her friends.
They said: "Evie was known for being a little diva, always dancing around doing TikTok’s, she used to love being the mother figure to her little brother Matthew and was a perfect role model for her younger sister Lillie.
"She loved to keep her mam and dad on their toes with her attitude and her sass, something that made Evie stand out and something her family and friends would never change for the world and certainly will never forget.
"She was a really bright kid who really got stuck in, her motivation to start secondary school was to get the best grades to enable her to become a paramedic when she left school.
"She was so pleased when she had the opportunity to spend the day with the emergency services just a few weeks before she passed away and this definitely made her mind up with the career path she wanted to take.
"She was always a kid that would be there to help anyone."
Shortly after becoming ill Evie-Leigh was diagnosed with DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), an aggressive form of childhood brain cancer, for which there is no effective treatment and no chance of survival.
In a bid to offer practical support to the youngster's family, friends at Hartlepool St Francis FC - where Evie-Leigh's uncle is a coach - have set up a fundraising page to ease worries of funeral costs. Donations have flooded in, and in just a couple of days the total is over £5,770.
You can a donation by visiting here.
