Back to school for Whitby's Evie Hodgson
The nine year-old girl, who's had a life-saving cell transplant, goes back to school today for the first time in a year
A nine year-old girl from Whitby, who has had a life-saving cell transplant, goes back to school today for the first time in a year.
Evie Hodgson was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, aplastic anaemia, in 2020. She had the operation earlier this year and today returns to Fyling Hall School near Robin Hood's Bay, after missing the whole of Year Four.
She said:
"I just want to go in the playground and just see all the familiar stuff that I used to see at school. I just want to play in the playground all day because it's really, really fun.
"They have like a pirate ship boat thingy and we play on it. There's a steering wheel on it so we do that and then there's also a slide and these monkey bar thingies, so I just can't wait. I'm so excited!
"I've really been looking forward to going back to school because I can't wait. I just can't wait to see all my friends. I just want to hug them all and I really want to hug all the teachers too.
"My favourite subject at school is probably art or maths. I don't know why but I love them both."
Tina, Evie's mum, said:
"She managed to do quite a bit of home schooling initially and then when we were up in hospital there was a tutor who would come onto the ward and then following her transplant, she had a tutor which came to our home twice a week.
"Yes, she has missed a whole year of school but we've plodded along and done bits and bobs with her and hopefully, she won't be too far behind but obviously time will only tell but I feel confident that she's done really well and she'll just pick up where she's left off.
"I can't say I was really concerned about her falling behind because she's a little bright spark and even though she wasn't back in full time education, we do things with her at home which were really interesting to her.
"We would grow things in the greenhouse and she'd be learning without reallising she's learning. We did sewing and she liked to do her music so although her head wasn't in a book she was always, always learning."