Girl, 8, proudly shows scars from four life-saving ops on her stomach after her Little Mix idol Perrie Edwards showed her OWN scars in bold Insta post
AN eight-year-old girl has learned to love her “bravery scars” from four life-saving operations after her idol Perrie Edwards shared a photo showing the scar on her abdomen.
Little Mix superfan Poppy Ella Rae, who had extensive surgery at the age of three after her stomach collapsed, often compares herself to her favourite band member Perrie because of their matching eye and hair colour – and they even share the same favourite colour (blue).
But the tot, from Hull, never suspected their similarities went even further.
Perrie had several operations on her oesophagus as a child to help her eat properly and often keeps her scar hidden – but not in a recent photo she posted on Instagram.
On seeing it, Poppy’s mother Kasha, 31, immediately showed it to her daughter, hoping it would help her to be proud of her scars: “Her face lit up and she said, ‘Oh wow, we really are twins! It’s exactly the same!’.”
The usually timid girl then asked her mum to take a photo of her with her “twin bravery scar” and send it to Perrie.
Her godmother, Debbie Huntley, 31, shared the photo on Twitter and it has since been liked over 3,500 times.
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Since then the schoolgirl, who had grown embarrassed of her scars after being "stared at" by other children, hasn’t stopped talking about wearing crop tops on holiday this year and has said she'll be confident at the pool now she can tell everyone she’s just like Perrie.
Poppy had to have emergency surgery in June 2012 at the age of three after doctors learned she’d been born without four crucial ligaments to hold her stomach in place, causing it to twist and collapse.
Five months later her life was in danger again when her stomach came apart and she was forced to undergo another three operations plus being given four epidurals, a catheter, and feeding tubes in her neck and her bowel.
She had to spend her birthday and Christmas in hospital and, even after she was discharged, was fed through a drip until her stomach started to work on its own.
But even though the operations saved her life, Poppy had become increasingly self-conscious about the scars on her stomach.
Kasha said: “I remember when she was around six years old a little boy said something about her tummy, not meaning to be mean, but she got very shy and tried to cover it up.
“I instantly said it's because she's very brave and special but could see it had hurt her.
“As she gets older she is noticing that she is different to other girls her age. When changing for P.E or swimming, she says she feels silly about her 'second belly button' (the feeding tube scar).”
Poppy’s surgeon, who she still sees regularly, has previously shown concern about how deep the feeding tube scar is and has suggested she may want cosmetic surgery when she’s older to improve the appearance of her scars.
Kasha said: “I'm hoping this helps her to love them instead.
“She's a very brave and beautiful girl and I want her to love the scars that saved her life.”