Brave Lyla O'Donovan wins hilarious Tik Tok bet with her dad as she battles on

Just two weeks ago, we told of Lyla O’Donovan’s tears when she faced some upsetting news.

Her dad Paul, from Hartlepool, had to tell her that her tenth operation on her brain had been put on hold because of the coronavirus.

But Lyla bounced back and challenged her dad to a bet which she won in style.

Paul explained: “Basically, there’s a thing on Tik Tok where they ask parents for, let’s say an iPad, and they have to get so many likes and shares before they are allowed it.

“It’s an impossible task, such as ‘if you get 1 million likes, you can have a iPad’.

“Lyla said ‘can I have a Barbie’ and I replied ‘if you get 100 shares and 1,000 likes you can shave my hair.”

But Paul did not reckon on Lyla’s army of supporters on social media and she reached the target in no time.

And when it came to paying up, there was another twist in store for Paul. “I was willing to shave my hair,” he said, “but then Lyla said ‘no I want you to dye it’.”

It resulted in Paul facing having a head of purple hair, although Lyla went easy on him and kept it at a more modest pinkish shade.

The bad news is …. it’s permanent until Paul can find a hairdressers that is open after the coronavirus lockdown is finished!

Lyla, seven, faces yet another wait for her 10th surgery on her brain. It was due to go ahead last month at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

But dad Paul, from Hartlepool, said the coronavirus would kill his daughter if she were to contract it.

He added: “Yes, she was upset but straight away she gets on with things and it is a credit to her character.”

“She was upset because she sees hospital as a vacation. She has lived like this for six out of her seven years. It is like telling a child they are going on holiday and then they are heartbroken when they can’t go.

“We want to show people what Lyla is capable of to inspire other families who are going through this. They might be thinking ‘oh my goodness, our world is falling apart’,

“But for six years, Lyla has lived like this and we are showing what Lyla is capable of.”

In the last four years Lyla has undergone life-threatening surgery, battled meningitis, been treated for hydrocephalus and had a shunt put into her head.

Their daughter’s inspirational story led to her becoming one of the winners of a Child of Courage trophy at the 2019 Best of Hartlepool Awards.

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