A PHOTOGRAPH could save Charlotte Russell as she prepares for a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

The Bolton schoolgirl goes into hospital on Thursday for eight days of chemotherapy in readiness for a rarely-performed operation which only has a 70 per cent chance of success.

Charlotte, aged 12, will be left desperately weak and prone to illness by the preliminary treatment as she awaits bone marrow to be transfused into her body from younger brother Nicholas.

She will also lose her hair and faces months in isolation after the operation to avoid infection.

But today the BEN has stepped in at Charlotte's request to ensure she has a photograph of her beloved dog Elvis by her bedside as she battles to recover from the transplant which aims to cure a killer genetic disorder.

And mum Debra Russell said our framed picture - taken by BEN photographer Andy Lambert - could make all the difference to her daughter's fight for life. She told the BEN: "This is the picture Charlotte really wanted to help her through. She couldn't bear the thought of being without Elvis for so long so this is the next best thing. When she is weak it will give her a wonderful boost."

Charlotte needs a lengthy spell of chemotherapy to destroy existing bone marrow in preparation for her transplant at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury.

Doctors, performing the operation for the first time because of the rarity of Charlotte's condition which limits her production of infection-fighting blood cells, have been forced to seek advice from world-leading French experts to ensure they use correct doses.

Too much chemotherapy would destroy other cells in Charlotte's body which she would struggle to regenerate because of her rare Fanconi anaemia disorder.

But today Mrs Russell, aged 34, said Charlotte was happy to put her faith in a "wonderful" medical team at Royal Manchester.

"Charlotte is her usual, resilient self," she said. "In fact, she's more bothered at the moment about having her hair cut short to go into hospital."

Mrs Russell and husband Chris, aged 35, an engineer for Bolton papermaking engineers Beloit Walmsley, Crompton Way, plan a vigil at Royal Manchester during their daughter's stay.

But they will be her only bedside visitors for months because Sharples School pupil Charlotte must stay in isolation to avoid infection while her brother's bone marrow takes hold.

"We are glad that things are going ahead because Charlotte needs this transplant," said Mrs Russell. "But it is obviously a very stressful time."

Donor Nicholas, aged just nine, will go into hospital next week so his bone marrow can be extracted.

But Mrs Russell says her son, who attends High Lawn Primary School, is putting his own fears to one side to help his sister.

"Nicholas is getting more nervous because he doesn't like needles," she said. "But at the end of the day he just wants to help Charlotte."

Meanwhile, Charlotte's fund raising for Royal Manchester's bone marrow unit has now topped £5,000.

Cash has flooded to the family home in Sharples Avenue, Sharples, Bolton, since the BEN highlighted her desire to help other children despite her own illness.

Donations can still be made by sending cheques marked Charlotte Russell and made payable to the Bone Marrow Trust Fund to PO Box 100, Oldham, OL2 5JH.

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