HER life was heartbreakingly short but 16-month-old Luna Townsend-Brown never failed to astound her proud parents by her courage and bravery as she battled a rare and incurable disease.

Sophie Townsend and Peter Brown, of Belvedere Close, Chapelford, have revealed how they will never forget the precious memories they shared with their daughter in the wake of her death almost four weeks ago.

The couple-of-four-years have released a touching tribute to their ‘beautiful little girl’ after she died peacefully in their arms at Alder Hey Hospital on October 5, aged 16 months.

The adorable youngster’s mischievous side and her infectious giggle are just two of the many endearing reasons why Luna was able to capture the hearts of so many in so little time.

Proud mum Sophie said:  “Apart from the last ten days, there wasn’t a day where she did not smile - despite everything she went through.

“All the surgeries, the blood transfusions, the tests - she was always smiling. She was so brave and a very special little girl.”

Luna suffered from a series of health problems after she was born seven weeks early on June 1, 2014 – weighing only 4lbs.

At just four months old, Sophie, aged 32, and Peter, aged 40, noticed Luna was having difficulties with her eyes.

Project manager Sophie recalled: “We thought this was just an isolated problem. We did not believe it would turn into anything else.

“Then at Christmas time when she was seven months, I began to think she was not developing quite as quickly as my other children.”

But the family’s lives were changed forever when Luna was rushed to hospital on April 1.

Luna spent the next seven weeks undergoing countless tests, operations, blood transfusions and MRI scans.

Despite a short stay at home where she was able to meet her baby sister April, now aged six months, Luna spent the majority of the final seven months of her life in hospital as her health deteriorated rapidly and aggressively.

After weeks of investigations, Luna's family were finally given the heart-breaking news she was suffering from a rare neurometabolic disease – a life-limiting illness.

But as more health complications were uncovered, her parents made the brave yet heart-breaking decision to let her die peacefully by taking Luna off life support following advice from medical professionals.

Sophie said: “We were emotionally exhausted by this rollercoaster that never seemed to come to an end.

“It just kept getting worse and worse.

“We wanted her to live but we did not want her to live because we selflessly could not live without losing her.

“She was in a lot of pain and she was blind. She would have had no quality of life.

“By keeping her alive we were essentially prolonging her suffering.”

Since her death, the outpouring of support from the community has helped to pick the family up during the darkest period of their lives.

The couple, who have 12-year-old Mia, nine-year-old Ellis, seven-year-old Rhys and five-year-old Ava-Nicole from previous relationships, have been amazed by the reaction from the people of Warrington – despite only moving to the town three years ago.

From cash pushed through their letter box in their daughter’s memory to strangers approaching them with flowers while in supermarkets, the couple have been touched by the many acts of kindness from people in the community.

The generosity of the public has not stopped there and the family have been inundated with donations after completing the Three Peaks challenge earlier this year, raising more than £3,500 for Climb – a charity for children living with inherited metabolic diseases.

But now the couple wish to raise funds for Alder Hospital who provided faultless support as their daughter faced the fight of her life.

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