A SIX-year-old diagnosed with several disabilties after being born prematurely will help light up the Alhambra Shopping Centre next week with the help of Santa.

Amelia Harrop-Rhodes, who lives in Penistone, is one of 290 children and young adults supported by Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, the shopping centre’s charity of the year.

She will be turning on the lights on Wednesday at 6pm.

Her mum, Jenni said: “Amelia was really excited when she found out she would be switching the Alhambra’s Christmas lights on with Santa.

“We’re so pleased that Alhambra has supported Bluebell Wood this year, because this charity makes such a big difference for families like ours.”

Amelia was born ten weeks’ premature, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic asymmetric quadriplegia a few weeks later.

“When I was pregnant I just expected to have Amelia and go home, but when she was born she was very poorly,” said Jenni.

“The doctors thought she had NEC a serious gut infection and she was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester to have a main line put into her heart, because her nerves and veins had started to collapse. It felt like a nightmare.

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“It wasn’t until she was five weeks old that Amelia had an MRI scan, and she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic asymmetric quadriplegia. I was told that half her brain was dead and that there was nothing there. That really freaked me out.

“When you’re having a baby you assume everything is going to be OK; the hardest thing in the early weeks of Amelia’s life was working out what all this would actually mean for our lives.”

Amelia first attended Bluebell Wood two years ago and has been enjoying the centre ever since.

Jenni said: “I first heard about Bluebell Wood when Amelia was four. At first I thought ‘Bluebell Wood is for end of life what’s that got to do with Amelia?’ I expected it to be really clinical, and thought it was just a place where children went to die but it’s so incredibly different from that.

“Amelia is a typical cheeky six-year-old, but it can be tiring caring for her and having mummy-daughter time too.

“At Bluebell Wood, I get to relax for a bit knowing she is being well looked after. She bakes, plays in the sensory room and in the soft play room. It’s loads of fun for her.”

Anna Gott, community fundraiser at Bluebell Wood, said: “We’re really grateful to the Alhambra and shoppers in Barnsley for all their amazing support this year, and we’re sure that Christmas at the centre is going to be loads of fun.

“Every penny people donate to Bluebell Wood gives families across our region the chance to make special memories at Christmas and all year round.”

The Christmas lights switch on marks the start of late night shopping at Alhambra and a host of Christmas activities, including ‘win your late night shopping’ every Wednesday between 4pm and 8pm and Elf on the Shelf weekly competitions.

From December 1, children will be able to have supper with Santa, visit his grotto and write letters in a new post office for 2018. The grotto will be open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon until 4pm, until Christmas Eve, with all proceeds continuing to go to Bluebell Wood.