FOUR months after life-saving surgery for a brain tumour, 10-year-old Bailey May Morris celebrated her amazing recovery by leading over 300 children in a fun run.

Every child at St John’s RC Primary in Trowbridge took part, joining Bailey to raise more £1,000 for Bristol Children’s Hospital’s FUN club, which helped her regain mobility.

During the Covid-19 lockdown she was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which thankfully turned out out to be benign but needed a 10-hour operation to remove.

Her mum Teresa Morris, 40, of Lamplighters Walk, Trowbridge, explained: “I noticed Bailey was becoming more clumsy and walking into things.

“She was also getting headaches after using the trampoline so I decided to get her checked.”

The neurology team at the Royal United Hospital in Bath diagnosed the brain tumour and Bailey was quickly transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital.

She underwent the surgery on June 17 to remove the growth from the back of her head and stayed in hospital for three weeks.

“When we received the diagnosis, we were completely shell-shocked. It was very worrying,” her mum said.

“Bailey went into theatre at 8.30am and didn’t come out until nearly 7pm. Because of the Covid pandemic, there was nowhere for us to sit and stay.

“The whole time she was in theatre, we sat in the entrance hall waiting for a phone call. It was nerve-wracking but the longer it went on the easier it got because we knew that she would be OK.

“Father Tom Finnegan, at St John’s Catholic Church, had said a mass for her that morning so we were able to watch that while we waited.

“The Year 6 pupils at St John’s were also watching it at the same time. It was really quite special.

“When we got to see Bailey in recovery she gave us the thumbs up, so we knew she was OK.

“The FUN Club are a charity who help children recovering on the neurology wards. Bailey’s left hand co-ordination had been greatly affected by the operation.

“The FUN Club spent hours teaching her origami, which not only made the stay so much more enjoyable, but also hugely helped her recovery and ultimately her left hand co-ordination.

“The days and weeks that we all spent on the ward were made so much easier by the FUN club.

“Bailey has been absolutely amazing and all her friends and the school have been so supportive with calls on Zoom.

“When Bailey went back to school in September, they asked her if there was a charity she would like to raise money for so she chose the Bristol Children’s Hospital.”

Two of Bailey’s friends in Year 6, Nicola and Nikola, decided to organise a sponsored fun run, which was held at lunchtime on Tuesday, and were supported by all 320 pupils at St John’s, on Wingfield Road in Trowbridge.

Teacher Kate Oatley said: “When Bailey came back to school, the children said they wanted to do something to show their support.

“The whole school has got involved and the children have all run for different lengths of time, depending on their age.

“Some of the younger ones walked and others ran as many laps of our running track as they could in 30 or 40 minutes.

“Every child in the school has taken home a sponsorship form and we don’t know exactly how much we will raise.”

Bailey already knows the fund has reached £1,500 through the run and family donations, with more cash still to come in.

Mrs Morris, a pharmacy technician at the RUH, and her husband, Robert, 41, who is a bathroom fitter, also have a son, Albie, seven. They said: “We are extremely proud of Bailey. For her to be running four months into recovery is just amazing. She has been an inspiration to us and to the school.”

If you would like to support Bailey and help raise money for the FUN club, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/baileymay-morris?utm_term=R7ngYRZ2y