Evie Dove was a bright, funny and caring teenager with a zest for life.

But unknown to her parents, their daughter had developed a deadly brain tumour which only revealed itself when she suffered a “horrific” seizure and was rushed to hospital.

It was the start of a gruelling battle for the brave 12-year-old schoolgirl from Worth, near Deal – a fight she would ultimately lose just 11 months later.

Her parents, Howard and Katie, who are now channelling their grief into a foundation they set up in her name, have been speaking to Kent Online about the tragedy of losing their “beautiful soul” of a daughter and their efforts to help others.

Recalling the turning point in all their lives, Katie says that Evie, who was a pupil at Kent College in Canterbury, had been staying over at a friend’s house when she suffered an “episode”.

“I drove her to the QEQM Hospital in Margate and it was there that she had a very much more serious seizure which was horrific to witness,” she said.

“She was admitted immediately as an emergency and then scans revealed she had an aggressive brain tumour – known as a glioblastoma.

“It came as a bolt out of the blue to us because she had been so fit and healthy throughout her childhood.

“But in hindsight, we just have to be glad she managed to come through it otherwise we may not have had the precious remaining time with her that we did.

“She was also especially close to her younger brother Edward who, of course, was also devastated by her illness and passing.”

Evie, who died in March last year, was found to have been born with a genetic mutation which made her predisposed, though extremely rarely, to developing a brain cancer.

She fought it with gruelling bouts of chemotherapy under the treatment of King’s College and the Royal Marsden Hospitals in London and the QEQM.

“Throughout it all, Evie remained her funny, kind and caring self, trying to make other children happy in hospital by sharing and donating her toys, like teddies,” said Katie.

“She was always generous from a very young age. It wasn’t something that we particularly instilled in her – it was just her nature.”

Driven to keep her memory alive following her death, Howard and Katie set up the Evie Dove Foundation to help further the careers of people working specifically in paediatric care.

The charity has since raised £174,000, enabling 33 applicants from all around the country to gain grants to support their ongoing training and studies.

“Evie was the most funny, kind, caring and goofy teenager who loved life and was just a beautiful soul,” said dad Howard, 53, who is managing director for airparks and insurance at Holiday Extras.

“We were inspired to create the foundation in her name after spending a huge amount of time in hospital and witnessing the tremendous care she was receiving from staff,” he said.

The charity has gone from strength to strength, far exceeding their expectations.

Among the successful fundraisers was a 17-mile coastal walk in September which resulted in more than £25,000 from 250 participants.

Separate from their foundation, Katie, 46, has also just braved a charity parachute jump with four other mums who have similarly lost children to brain tumours, together raising money for the Tessa Jowell Foundation.

The mums, from different parts of the country, first met on social media through their shared experience and together created the Facebook page Forever Mums of Brain Tumour Angels.

They all met emotionally in person for the first time recently at Sibson Airfield in Peterborough for their tandem jumps which raised £70,000.

Back on safe ground, Katie, a fitness instructor and personal trainer, said Evie would have been incredulous at her bravery.

“She would have been amazed and probably laughed and said something like: ‘Are you crazy, Mum?’

“But I also know she would have been incredibly proud of me.”

Katie says she and husband Howard took the inspiration for their foundation partly from a healthcare assistant called Cuba at the Royal Marsden who provided Evie and the family with tremendous support.

“It made us realise just how important he was to us in our darkest of hours and how much comfort he brought to Evie, when we were dreading seeing her latest scans after bouts of chemotherapy,” she said.

“It was his acts of kindness that made the whole ordeal more bearable for us than it might have been.

“We then decided to set up the foundation to help aspiring healthcare workers who go that extra mile and Cuba was the first to benefit.

“So it is very gratifying to know that our support is now helping him to train to be a doctor and that he will promote and take that caring ethos with him.”

Evie attended the Cartwright and Kelsey Primary School in Ash and then Kent College in Canterbury, which Katie praised for their continued “phenomenal” support.

“Since we lost her, we have been amazed at just how successful the foundation has been thanks to the incredible support we have had from so many supporters,” she added.

“We had a five-year plan but have exceeded that in our first year, which is extraordinary.

“I think Evie would have been quite embarrassed at being the centre of such attention, but secretly loved it.”