A PEN Llyn family have been left distraught after they were accused of using their six-year-old daughter’s brain tumour as an excuse for a “holiday” on the eve of her second major operation in just two months.

Heather and Geraint Hughes’ daughter Evie will undergo invasive brain surgery today (Thursday) after the shock discovery of a tumour in October which has left her blind in one eye, with the family set to spend Christmas at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool as she recovers.

After initial surgery proved to be unsuccessful, Mr and Mrs Hughes were told the “difficult” news that Ysgol Morfa Nefyn pupil Evie would need a second operation, rather than chemotherapy as they had hoped, before flying out to Florida for pioneering proton therapy treatment, which is not yet available in the UK.

A fund-raising campaign was launched after her diagnosis, with communities across north Wales banding together and holding events with the aim of raising enough money to allow the family, including Evie’s brother Luke, to make the potentially life-saving trip.

But speaking to the Cambrian News this week, a tearful Mrs Hughes said she had been sent a “diabolical” letter from an anonymous sender which claims the treatment is available in the UK for free, and accuses the family of seeking to gain from Evie’s illness.

“It is just completely diabolical to suggest that a parent would think of going to Florida as a better option if it was available in this country, and that they see it as being a holiday,” Mrs Hughes told the Cambrian News.

“I am in a lot of debt, this was completely unexpected and we will be spending Christmas in hospital with our seriously ill child.”

Read the full story in this week’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News