A THREE-YEAR-OLD Wrexham girl with a rare form of brain cancer had her first day at primary school.
Aria Hodgkiss, from Rhostyllen, was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in May - on the day of her third birthday.
The tumour, sitting the brain stem, is inoperable - with life expectancy tragically between just nine and 18 months from diagnoses.
However, hope that Aria could live a much longer life was rekindled when her family heard about the ONC201 drug - which is thought to kill cancerous cells while preserving healthy ones.
Aria has been receiving the treatment for a couple of months, and first started walking again not long after taking her first dose.
And last week, brave little Aria attended her first day of nursery at Ysgol Rhostyllen.
When Aria was asked by mum, Mel, what she wants to be when she's older, she said: "I want to be a doctor or a nurse, so I can make people better."
Mel said: "It was amazing to see her walking into her class. I've never been so proud of her.
"It was so emotional watching her go into her new school."
Aria will keep fighting, but she and her family need the help of the public to keep buying the ONC201 drug - as it's not available through the NHS.
It will eventually cost a 1000 euros a week to import from Germany, and a fundraising page has been set up to gather funds for her family to be able to afford it.
It is available to donate to at https://bit.ly/3A0FZiR
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