Leah Xuereb, the four-year-old who had life-saving treatment in Texas last year, is still undergoing chemotherapy in Malta, but has gained some normality.

“We have to travel to Malta for treatment or tests every day but, compared to what she has been through, Leah is now doing normal things that little girls do,” her mother, Zhana, said at Rainbow Ward in Mater Dei Hospital yesterday.

“She rides her white bike, which she requested for Christmas, everyday and plays with her brother, Owen, and her new pet kitten, Tiger, all the time.”

Dressed in pink from head to toenails, the little girl bounced and rolled on her bed as the family waited for her dose of blood platelets, which she receives after chemotherapy.

In October, Leah won the nation’s heart when her parents made a plea through Times of Malta to fund her life-saving treatment for a rare form of cancer in a specialised Texas hospital.

At three, Leah had already spent half her life in hospital in Malta and in London.

The €245,000 treatment in the US was funded by the Government and Leah managed to fulfil their wish to return to Malta just a few days before Christmas.

But the family was in for some bad news on New Year’s Eve when they were informed that cancer traces had been detected in her body.

Since then, Leah has received seven cycles of chemotherapy of three weeks each.

She is “responding well” and will finish her seventh cycle this week. Doctors will then decide whether there is a need for the eighth cycle of radiotherapy treatment.

“It’s really hard sometimes, coming here every day, but we want to believe... and Leah keeps us going.

“Although we complain at times, we need to be strong and, considering what she’s been through, Leah is a very strong girl... a fighter... and she’s going to be fine,” her father said.

Despite the ordeal, the girl was full of energy yesterday, jumping and rolling on the bed, wrestling with her father and giggling.

Commending the pleasant environment at the children’s ward, her parents admitted it was not the first time she wanted to stay at hospital to play.

She has been to school twice and spent what her mum believes is one of the best days of her life at the dolphin park in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, an event organised by Puttinu Cares.

Her school friends threw a party for her.

A new addition to the extended family – her two-month-old cousin, Nick – is also bringing out the caring side of the little girl.

Leah is learning three languages: Maltese and English to communicate with her parents, and Bulgarian, to speak to her maternal grandmother, Vesi.

“She is such a happy girl and appreciates all the little things. In life, we have to go through so much but when you see the smile on her face you forget everything. Her happiness is what matters at the end of the day.

“Never in a million years did I expect to go through all this but when I went to the UK, worried about Leah, I saw so many other sick kids that the distress hit me hard.

“God is indeed great and we thank Him for every cured child.

“Our priest tells us to take it day by day and when things are really tough, he tells us to take it moment by moment,” Ms Xuereb said, adding that she wanted to put the past behind and focus on the good things.

“I just think about the good things every day. It’s what keeps us going. She receives a gift, she smiles, she has an appetite...

“It’s been long and tough but we are really grateful for everyone’s help and prayers.

“There are so many people to thank that when I pray for Leah at Ta’ Pinu or Lourdes church in Għajnsielem, I also pray for all those who kept her in their prayers.”

Leah’s parents expressed gratitude for the support they received from Puttinu Cares, the Malta Community Chest Fund, the Government, Victor Calvagna and his team and close family friend Jo Kesbey, who was the person that first approached Times of Malta with the parents’ plea.

Ms Kesbey, who has stood by the family through thick and thin both in Malta and the UK, is Ms Xuereb’s “angel”.