A six-year-old Perthshire girl with cancer who inspired a new charity book has had her Christmas dream come true after visiting Santa in Lapland.
Ruby Stewart from Inchture travelled to the cold north on Friday to meet Saint Nicholas and help feed his reindeer.
The trip was made even more special as Ruby was originally supposed to go with the Make A Wish Foundation, which offers life-changing experiences to children with critical illnesses, but she was too ill at the time, forcing her parents Andy and Claire to fundraise so they could take Ruby on their own.
The schoolgirl has stage four alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of soft tissue tumour, after being diagnosed with the disease at only four years old.
Earlier this month a charity book inspired by the youngster, The Unicorn With The Ruby Horn, was released by copywriter Kevin Anderson whose son attends Inchture Primary School with Ruby.
The picture book will raise funds for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG).
Kevin said the family were incredibly grateful for the support they received in making Ruby’s Christmas dream come true.
He said: “It has been a phenomenal success.
“It’s a fantastic way to end a year which has been really hard for them.
“Lapland was a massive thing for Ruby and her family. What you see in the photographs is a happy six-year-old who deserves every joy in life.
“They flew out on Friday and they met Santa on Saturday.
“She was originally supposed to go with the Make A Wish Foundation but she took a turn for the worse and she couldn’t make the timing of that.
“Her parents quickly raised about £8,000 through donations to their Just Giving page so this trip could happen.
“It was touch and go that she would be able to make it because she was in hospital with an infection.”
Kevin said the message he got from Ruby’s mum Claire was that the family were, “so grateful for the support from everyone that has donated to the Just Giving page which made the trip possible.”
The Unicorn With The Ruby Horn book was released at the start of December and has already raised more than £15,000 for charity.
One NHS employee at Ninewells Hospital, Lizzie Flood, who works on ward 29 were Ruby was treated has raised £1,500 on her own from selling the books.
Kevin said: “The support for both the Just Giving campaign and the book has been phenomenal and restores your faith in humanity.
“For me personally it has been an emotional three months getting the book done and seeing Ruby get quite sick and then bounce back and seeing that smile of hers.”
