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Loving tributes have been shared to a 13-year-old girl who died of a rare cancer days after Christmas.
The “brave”, “sweet” and “kind” Elodie Fagan was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of five, when a tumor appeared on her leg.
Throughout her childhood, Elodie underwent multiple surgeries and chemotherapy in an attempt to stop the “rapidly advancing” form of cancer.
But after years of intermittent stability and much treatment, her father said her journey came to an end and she died on December 27, with her family surrounding her at home.
Despite living with the “horrible” disease for years, Elodie’s father, Carl Fagan, said that she was always brave and had a smile on her face.
She was determined not to be known as “the girl with cancer,” Carl, from St Helens, told ECHO.
He said: “She never wanted to be the girl with cancer, she wanted to be in school, to have as normal a life as possible.”
“She would do her best to be a normal 13-year-old. She loved art, musicals and history, and she spent a lot of time trying to be a normal girl.”
The 44-year-old added: “At first I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but she took it easy.
“The chemotherapy obviously made her incredibly sick. She went through the therapy that made her very uncomfortable, but she took it easy.
“Everything he’s done, he’s done with a smile on his face.”
After initial chemotherapy, Elodie was disease-free in 2013 and her family said she was able to gain two to three years of “stability.”
However, in 2016, the family heard the devastating news that Elodie’s cancer had returned.
Carl said that at this point “the statistics were terrible for survival rates” and that they tried a special proton therapy in Oklahoma, USA.
He said, “Once again, she was incredibly determined, we had discussions about ‘do you want to do this, do you want to continue?’, And she was incredibly determined not only to continue with therapy, but to get over it.”
The family also discussed the possibility of amputating the leg to remove the tumor with Alder Hey Hospital.
But during his leg amputation surgery, doctors realized the tumor had spread and was pressing against vital veins and arteries.
Carl added: “She woke up with one leg and some people might have been happy, but she was not happy, she had prepared for this.
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“We planned to have more surgery or try again, but unfortunately it turned out that it had progressed around his body and was incurable.”
“She knew this, but she fought until Christmas.
“She was determined to enjoy Christmas with her family and she did, but only a couple of days after her sudden death.
“She was not only brave and pragmatic, that’s evident because they have to be in those situations, but I think there were times when she was scared but she did it anyway, and that’s true courage and bravery, even though you’re scared. “.
Elodie’s family has created a special website in her memory, where friends can leave thoughts and tributes.
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A tribute reads: “You are my best friend and always will be, from Tia x.”
Another from Amelia said, “We all love you so much Elodie, your smile could light up a room and you could make anyone frown. I love you El and always will.”
While a third said, “You were so kind and so sweet and I love you so much, I am so lucky to be able to be a small part of your life.”
A GoFundMe page has also been created to raise funds for Claire House, a charity that Carl said helped him tremendously.
Since Elodie is unable to have a large funeral with the attendance of friends and family, due to the covid, Carl has asked that money be donated in her name instead of sending flowers.
Carl said: “We have more flowers than we need and I know that people always feel helpless in these kinds of situations.
“If people feel like they want to support, support other families through Claire House, that’s a very appropriate way to do it on Elodie’s behalf.
“This is a way that people wanted to do something, they can do it and help other families in the same way that they have helped us.”
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