The family of Rachel Middleton have been overwhelmed with calls of sympathy from members of the public who took the courageous teenager's story to their hearts.

Rachel lost her long battle for life just days after appearing on television pleading for an organ donor to come forward.

The 18-year-old from Lytonn Road, Chadwell St Mary, was born with cystic fibrosis and much her young life had revolved around hospital treatments and operations.

She had already undergone two liver transplants and was waiting for a heart, lung and liver transplant.

She died on Monday evening at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, where she had been a patient for the past three months. Her parents Steve and Patricia were at her side. Grandfather Jim Middleton who lives in Argent Street, Grays, said: "We have had literally dozens and dozens of calls of sympathy -- and we're only the grandparents. The response has been amazing. She was the bravest little girl in the world.

"She went downhill very quickly in the last few weeks. She knew what was going on but managed to keep her spirits up.

"She was the one who kept the family going.

"She had been waiting two years and three months fora transplant but it was so difficult to find a match. One of the problems was that she was so small."

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