A brave six-year-old girl who was told she would not live past the age of two due to a rare condition has died after catching Covid.
Olivia Butler was diagnosed with Ohtahara syndrome, an uncommon type of epilepsy that caused her to have over 200 seizures a day.
Only four cases of the rare condition were reported worldwide between 2009 and 2019.
When the girl was born, her parents Stacey Butler, 34, and Gary Butler, 36, were told she would not live past the age of two, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Olivia defied all odds and lived to the age of six, but she sadly passed away after testing positive for Covid this month.
The girl was surrounded by her family's love, including her aunt Sheryl Pearce, 40, and grandma Michelle Driffill, 58, who were her carers.
Ms Pearce described Olivia as "a little fighter" who was "cheeky" and "strong".
The girl's aunt said the whole family went into lockdown when the pandemic began and everyone was extremely careful to protect Olivia as much as possible.
But despite all their efforts, the girl from Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, contracted Covid on Tuesday, August 17, and died the following Saturday.
Sheryl explained: "From the minute Covid began the household went into lockdown.
"We were really careful. We were cleaning and sanitising everything. We managed to keep Covid out of the house until last week."
When Olivia caught Covid, the family was told she needed to go to Lincoln Hospital and be on high-flow oxygen.
Her aunt said the girl was doing pretty well on Thursday night, but on Friday morning "she just crashed".
Sheryl explained: "They had to bag and mask her to keep her alive. On Saturday morning they decided enough was enough. She wasn't fighting.
"We held her and cuddled her and she passed away shortly after."
Paying tribute to her niece, Sheryl said: "She's defied everything doctors have thrown at her in the past.
"We've had a couple of close calls but she's always pulled through. She's so strong and such a little fighter."
"She had a really bad attitude," she joked. "She was cheeky. She'd also make noises for no other reason than she wanted some attention. She'd purse her lips at you when you were annoying her.
"She enjoyed music. She'd lie down and listen to pop music, or classic music if we wanted to keep her calm. She'd listen to rainforest sounds at night.
"She's blind but she can see different lights, so we had some lights that we put on the ceiling which she'd watch.
"Her brother and sister Harry and Evie would read to her and paint her nails. Olivia was very much included in the family life."
