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'Brave warrior' girl with brain tumour who got £10K donation from Ryan Reynolds has died

'Brave' Aria Hodgkiss has died, her family announced. (GoFundMe)
'Brave' Aria Hodgkiss has died, her family announced. (GoFundMe)

A four-year-old with terminal brain tumour whose family received a £10,000 donation from Ryan Reynolds has died, her family have announced.

Aria Hodgkiss was diagnosed with the tumour on her third birthday in May 2021 and her parents, from Wrexham, launched a fundraiser so she could have alternative treatment.

Their campaign attracted support from Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who bought Wrexham FC in 2021 and donated £20,000 to help the family.

But in an update on their GoFundMe page on Thursday, Aria's family said their "brave warrior" had passed away.

Hollywood actor Ryan Reynold was among those who donated to help fund Aria's alternative treatment. (GoFundMe)
Hollywood actor Ryan Reynold was among those who donated to help fund Aria's alternative treatment. (GoFundMe)

They wrote: "Our brave warrior, our baby girl Aria passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at 12.30am.

"We are absolutely devastated and we have no idea how we will carry on each day. But, we promise you that we will carry on for you.

"Dipg didn't win, you won baby girl. You fought for so long. You now deserve to run free and be a little girl. We love you so so much Aria.❤️❤️ #ariavsdipg #dipgwarrior #dipgsucks #dipgangel."

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Aria had been diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) - a terminal, aggressive brain tumour affecting just 40 children a year in the UK.

In their initial fundraising post, Aria's parents Melanie and Carl Hodgkiss said 1% of children made it five years with the condition from diagnosis, with the average time just nine months.

They had raised over £76,000 for a new cancer drug called ONC201, which costs up to £3,000 each month.

The couple had previously spoken about the "mind-blowing" donation from Reynolds.