A cancer-stricken youngster who was flown back to Scotland on Wednesday after being stranded in Mexico has shown “signs of improvement”.

Seven-year-old Olivia Downie responded to her mother’s voice by smiling and nodding her head just hours after arriving back in Scotland.

The Fraserburgh youngster who suffers from Neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer that attacks the nervous system and can affect the lungs, skin and brain, travelled with her family to Mexico for “last ditch” treatment.

However, when the treatment failed her parents, Lauren and Steven, found themselves stranded in Mexico, an emotional appeal was made to help fly Olivia home and more than £150,000 was donated by the public to Families Against Neuroblastoma (FAN), who organised the trip.

The youngster was flown back to Scotland on Wednesday and taken straight to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

On Thursday afternoon, her condition was described as being “serious but stable” by an NHS Grampian spokesman.

Linza Corp, spokeswoman for Families Against Neuroblastoma, said the family has been encouraged by the way Olivia is responding to being back in Scotland.

She said: "She came out of her sleep and responded to her mum’s voice.

"She was smiling and nodding her head. Being back in Scotland appears to have roused her spirit.

"That is perhaps not a surprise because when she was in Mexico she would have been surrounded by strange voices and her parents would have been very worried.

"However, she is now surrounded by people with familiar accents and her parents will be more relaxed at being back in Scotland.

"She was sedated not long after she woke up as her body needs to rest after the long journey. She is settled and doing ok and there has been a definite improvement since she arrived home.

"While we wouldn’t want to give anybody false hope, she is certainly doing better than we had hoped.

"There's always hope and it's not a fairytale, it's a long shot. But there are children who beat all the odds and pull through."

Related articles

• Timeline: Olivia Downie
• Fact File: Neuroblastoma
• Dying child Olivia Downie arrives back home in Scotland from Mexico
• Dying cancer-stricken girl stranded in Mexico cleared to fly home

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