Shaun the Sheep Movie and a big bowl of sweets has helped a Deal youngster celebrate the end of her cancer treatment.

Two years and two months after she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, eight-year-old Megan Gridley has received her final dose of chemotherapy.

To celebrate, the St Mary’s Primary pupil enjoyed a film night with her family, complete with sweets, popcorn and crisps.

Mum Katie Gardner, 31, of Wilson Avenue, said: “She was ecstatic. With chemotherapy you can’t eat an hour before or after so it often ruined parties and special occasions. But now Megan can eat at normal times and go out and enjoy party food.

“For me the film night was like ‘we’ve done it. It’s all over’.”

Megan was rushed to Margate’s QEQM Hospital on August 14, 2013, in an ambulance after she suffered a seizure at home. She had a swollen stomach, bruising and was turning yellow.

Later the same day, after a number of tests and a blood transfusion, Megan’s mum received the news that every parent dreads.

She said: “I was on my own and I was taken into a side room. The nurse had a box of tissues in her hand.

“I asked what they were for and then she told me that my daughter had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Then I knew what the tissues were for.

“It’s a day I will never forget. It was just a shock. We had already had so much bad luck.”

Megan has a twin brother Matthew who is disabled and her younger sister Amelia, at the time, had a heart condition.

Mrs Gardner said: “I just thought to myself how could this happen. I had all these questions that I couldn’t find the answers to.”

Megan was transferred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey, where on August 19, 2013 – her sixth birthday – she began nine weeks of intensive treatment during which she lost her hair.

Following that, she continued to have treatment monthly and quarterly, but was spending more time in hospital when she had a raised temperature or her immune system was down.

Six months later, Megan became ill with sepsis as well as mucositis, a side effect of chemotherapy. She spent another six-and-half-weeks in hospital.

“All in all, I’d say we’ve spent around nine months in hospital,” said Mrs Gardner.

“It was our second home. We had a bag packed all the time. We had our own cubicle – Cubicle 2 in the Rainbow Ward at the QEQM. The nurses were more like family.”

A number of things helped Megan to get through; the likes of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Olly Murs, whose songs she played relentlessly in her cubicle as well as her Beads of Courage.

The beads offer support for children and teenagers undergoing serious illness and treatments. Each coloured bead represents a treatment, a test, an injection or a milestone and are given out by the hospital’s play specialists. Megan has collected more than 500 beads.

Mrs Gardner said: “It takes away the whole ‘I’ve got to have a needle put into me’ feeling.”

The mum-of-three admits there were times when she thought she could lose Megan, such as when she had a seizure at home lasting 40 minutes and when friends Megan had made lost their battles.

She said: “You just never know what tomorrow is going to bring. We watched Stand Up To Cancer on television in 2012 and couldn’t really relate. The next year we were one of those families.

“You’ve just got to hold on to your children and cuddle them as tight as possible. It has been a massive reality check for us but she’s survived it.”

Megan is still on the critical list and will have to attend regular appointments until she is 18.

Mrs Gardner said: “Now is like the aftermath of a hurricane. It’s time for her body to tidy up and bring her levels back to normal.”

In January, Megan will have her portacath removed, meaning she will be able to do more physical activity, and in six months time she will have her baby vaccinations again.

Having missed a lot of school, Megan is now back full time and is enjoying playing in the playground as well as lessons, especially art.

She has aspirations to become a play specialist and hand out beads of courage to others who are poorly.