A schoolgirl died from a suspected abscess on the brain just weeks after being told she just had an ear infection.
Leah Robshaw, 12, passed away in hospital on Sunday, with heartbroken mum Claire Robshaw paying tribute to her "lovely, fun-loving little girl".
She said her daughter loved making TikTok videos, doing her hair and makeup, and spending time with her cousins, reports the Chronicle Live.
Leah's death came as a huge shock to the family, who had been told she had an ear infection just weeks earlier.
Claire, 41, from Stanley, County Durham, said: "She always had a smile on her face. She was a bright girl and she was always willing to help anybody.
"My heart has been broken into a million pieces and I just can't believe it's happened. Nobody can believe that she's gone."
After giving birth to five sons, Claire said she was "over the moon" when she fell pregnant with Leah and discovered she would be having her first little girl.
She was adored by her older brothers Liam, 26, Jordan, 24, Ryan, 23, Josh, 21 and Reece, 19.
And her mum said she became a role model to her two younger sisters, Amelia, six, and Lakisha, three.
Claire said: "Amelia has been in tears and she's hardly eaten because it's starting to sink in with her what's happened.
"Lakisha keeps saying: 'When's the doctor sending Leah back home?' They both loved her so much."
Approximately a week before Christmas, Leah started to complain that she felt unwell and was given antibiotics for a suspected ear infection.
But her illness continued to get worse and on New Year's Day she complained of having pains in her head, which was again believed to be an ear and throat infection and vertigo.
Claire said: "When we got her home all she would do is sleep. I had to feed her and give her drinks. She couldn't go to the toilet on her own and she couldn't walk.
"She deteriorated so much last Thursday that she couldn't even talk, it was all mumble. She couldn't get out of bed at all.
"When the paramedics came to take her to hospital her brother had to carry her down the stairs because she fell as she couldn't walk."
Claire said Leah was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham last Thursday (January 13) for a scan before being transferred to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne.
She underwent eight hours of surgery and a further two operations, but Claire was informed that her daughter had also suffered a stroke and that her body was shutting down as an infection took hold of her body.
The former North Durham Academy pupil was placed on life-support and on Sunday her family made the difficult decision to let Leah pass away peacefully.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help the grieving family raise money for Leah's funeral.
Claire is hoping to give her a send-off fit for a princess, with a horse and carriage and bright pink T-shirts for loved ones bearing a photograph of Leah.
