A young leukaemia sufferer is celebrating after being crowned supreme champion at a regional dance competition.
Amelia Baxter, from Nunthorpe, was just five when she was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and went onto spend more than two years receiving chemotherapy at Royal Victorian Infirmary in Newcastle.
Despite a battle with brittle bones - a side effect of the intense treatment - as well as having to wear a back brace for six months - Amelia, went into remission in 2011 and has not looked backed since.
The 11-year-old says it is her love of dancing which got her through “the toughest time of my life.”
“Dancing keeps me happy,” said Amelia, who has been dancing since the age of three at SB Dance in Normanby. The youngster was picked as “supreme champion” after performing her Acro solo at the Southlands Centre in Middlesbrough last week.
“Even when I was poorly I kept at it, because it took my mind off being poorly. My friends at dancing looked after me and whenever I got upset they were there to calm me down and make sure I was OK.
Amelia’s mum, Rachel Baxter, 41, said: “Our lives were turned upside down when we were told it was leukaemia. It was a fear on the unknown I think. We would hear about other people having it but I suppose it’s ignorance not knowing much about it or expecting it to happen to your own. She lives and breathes dancing and it has helped her get through it. As soon as she gets on stage she just performs and holds it together.
Rachel, a teacher at Pallister Park Primary School, in Middlesbrough, and mum to Maddie, 10 and Matilda, seven, added: “To look at her now she is an inspiration. She has never once given up, and remains a positive, bright young girl who I am proud of.”
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