Brave schoolboy Karl Hodgetts battled for months against all odds to defeat cancer, but just hours after doctors revealed he had won his fight he lost his struggle for life. The 11-year-old battler proved a huge inspiration to other ill youngsters by keeping a smile on his face despite his tough fight to destroy a brain tumour the size of a lemon. Two weeks before Christmas, Karl - a pupil at Dovecote Primary School, Wolverhampton - began an extremely toxic course of intensive chemotherapy and celebrated Christmas in Birmingham Childrens Hospital. But the treatment left his body so weak he developed phneumonia and spent the last month fighting for his life in intensive care with his parents, Sue and Mick, keeping a 24-hour bedside vigil. On Monday a scan revealed he had won his battle, but he died hours later with his family, including brothers 13-year-old Kris and Nic, 15, who both attend Aldersely High School, Wolverhampton, at his bedside. Karl was as brave as brave can be, said his 45-year-old dad Mick, of Guy Avenue, Wolverhampton. We constantly held on to hope up until the very last minute that he would pull through. But despite all the best possible care, it still wasnt enough, his body just couldnt take any more. We are all devastated and as a family are just struggling to come to terms with it all. Mick added: Karl was so bubbly and such a little battler, there will be a huge gap in our lives without him. We were all at his bedside when he died. I think he knew that we were all there for him. Over the last few days Karl had managed to open his eyes, but he was unable to speak to us. Karl was fabulous from day one and despite everything that he had to cope with he still kept his sense of humour. I dont know if I could have done the same. We just want to say thankyou to everyone who supported and asked about Karl. It meant such a lot to us. Karl was just 10 last June when he fell ill with sunstroke and doctors discovered he had a brain tumour - which had been growing since he was in his mothers womb - and fluid on his brain. In the last eight months he had survived eight hours of neurosurgery and a course of both high dose experimental chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which left him almost completely deaf and without some feeling in his left side. His parents were swift to support the Mails Why My Child appeal to set up Europes first flasghip research centre into childhood diseases, including cancer, at the city Childrens Hospital to save others suffering the same heartache. Click here to find out more about the Why My Child appeal. | 
