She’s also intent on putting a smile on the faces of other sick children going through the same kind of treatment she has faced since she was a baby.
Ella was born with a rare kidney disease and has spent much of her life in hospital.
She was eight weeks old when she was diagnosed with congenital nephrotic syndrome and needed six years of dialysis.
She has also undergone 40 operations, before her life was transformed when her grandmother donated one of her kidneys in 2014.
Since the transplant, Ella, 10, has put her efforts into supporting the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and raising funds to help other sick children.
In May 2016, she crossed the finishing line of the Mini Great Manchester Run without her walking frame, just months after taking her first steps unaided.
At the event she met women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe.
Through the run, and other fundraising events, Ella and her family have raised more than £3,000 for the hospital.
Ella celebrated her tenth birthday in October and did it in the best way possible, completing the Manchester 10K run for the charity once again, in the first of a series of runs she has planned over the next 10 months.
“It’s hard to put into words what the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital have done for us,” said her mum, Karen Hughes.
“They have been Ella’s lifeline since she was born and she will need them when she is older. A year of fundraising for them is the perfect way to celebrate 10 years of her being a patient too.”
Ella also spent her summer holidays making her own Get Well Soon cards for children still in hospital. They were brightly coloured and decorated with stickers, and Ella wrote a message inside them to every patient: “Hope I made you smile. Love Ella.”
“Ella spent all her school holidays making the cards,” said mum Karen. “She wanted to help make the children feel happy and better. It was all her own decision and was a really big task for her.”
Ella has been through so much in her short life, but she is absolutely determined to say ‘thank you’ and help other people. Her charity runs are fantastic, and her caring nature absolutely shines through.Pride of Sport judges
