Gracie made a lot of friends, through school, through dancing and singing, through the hospital and through family friends. There are a few I would like to mention here who were so lovely to Gracie and who she absolutely loved.

Katie and Ella Barlow

We met the Barlows through Worsley golf club, when John joined in 2011, and Gracie was baby. As she grew up, she really looked up to both Ella and Katie, Katie is a dancer and an amazing singer and taught her some new moves (although in fairness, Gracie did have a tendency to freestyle a bit!) Ella was great, and was quite happy to sit and play with Gracie, draw pictures and watch whatever she was doing on her I pad.

At our wedding in 2016, Katie agreed to take on the task of the Bridesmaids dance. She created a routine, (to Papa don't preach of course!) and taught Gracie and her cousin Evie who then performed this at our reception. She was very patient, as again, Gracie was quite keen to do her own thing, so she even gave her a freestyling section! It was a great success, and is a lovely memory for all of us.

Every time we went out, Gracie would always ask if we were going to see Katie and Ella and even when she was really ill at the end, they both came to visit her to cheer her up. They are lovely, generous, kind girls and I am so grateful to both of them for being such lovely friends to Gracie.

School friends - Lois, Pheobe, Srinika, Caitlin and all of 1L

Gracie loved going to school, and whenever we were able, we would always invite one of her friends over to play after school. Quite a few of the girls in her class had older sisters or brothers in Freddies year, so Gracie grew up with three or four girls who she was very close to.

They disappeared into her room and shut the door, and went straight for the make up and turned up the volume on her CD player. When my mum had picked them up from school, she also usually ended up part of this. I did come home from work a few times to be greeted by my mum with bright blue eye shadow, and red lipstick all over her face, she didn't seem to mind though.

Even when Gracie got ill, her friends were great. They didn't notice or mind that she didn't have any hair, or that she wasn't able to run around like they could. It must have been a little strange for them, but they treated her like any other little girl, and I am very grateful that Gracie always felt she was the same as everyone else.

I remember dropping Gracie off at school and watching everyone run across the playground to greet her. She would then walk off, hand in hand with Lois and Srinika, with a big smile on her face. All her class mates really looked after her when she was there. They are a very kind class, and even now when I see them, they always shout "Hi Gracies mum" and give me a big smile and a wave. I do feel that Gracie will always be part of their class and year at school, and I know that the children, teachers and parents won't allow her to be forgotten.

Hospital friends - Tia, Leigh, Gracie and Kyle

Gracie did many concerts and shows in the ward with Tia, Leigh and Gracie. She tried her hardest to get them into Madonna although they usually had to comprimise on One Direction or Justin Bieber. The nurses loved it, and it certainly passed the time. It was especially good on a Tuesday when Louby Lou came in with her juke box and micro phone.

Kyle was older, and we met him when Gracie was first diagnosed. They played a lot of board games, and he was the only one Gracie ever allowed to win!

All these children had to go through similar treatment to Gracie, some are still fighting, some sadly have gone with Gracie, but I do believe they will all be out there somewhere, carrying on with the concerts and performing their hearts out.

XOX