‘Awkward Eater’, 10, raises money for her ailing brother’s hospital by eating foods she hates

Ten-year-old Jessie Atkins-Bromley is known for being a “picky eater” but puts that aside to help her little brother, who was diagnosed with tethered cord last year

A 10-year-old girl ate foods she hates including marmite, sprouts, olives and spam to raise money for a hospital caring for her poor brother.

Jessie Atkins-Bromley gagged while eating a number of things she loathed after Charlie Bromley was diagnosed with tethered cord syndrome, which left him in agony.

He had major surgery in February at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for the condition, which led to extreme constipation.

Jessie, from Wallingford, Oxon, never turned up her nose at a single challenge and amassed £700, more than triple her original goal of £200.

Mum Lauren Atkins, 27, said: “She’s such a picky eater and people were suggesting they love or hate foods like marmite, olives and spam.

“She did really well. She never said no to anything.”

Charlie began suffering from constipation last year and a health visitor helped get a referral for an MRI scan.

Doctors at the hospital diagnosed him with TCS in September – meaning a mass of fat on his spinal cord was pulling on it, preventing it from growing normally.

Lauren said: “It was nice to have a name for it and finally understand what it was.

“But it was also frightening because the condition can have lifelong effects.”

The doctors operated successfully to “unhook” the nerves and spinal cord from the mass.

However, big sister Jessie had to “fight for sleep” because the experience had been so “disturbing”.

A JustGiving page has been set up for donations and dares. Proud Lauren said: “When we told Jessie how much she had raised, she was just amazed.

“We are so proud – it’s nice to give something back to a great hospital.”