A BABY girl who had beaten leukaemia died in her parents’ arms after succumbing to a mystery illness.

Ava-Jai McInerney had a bone marrow transplant in April to stop the cancer returning, but passed away at 14-months-old, leaving her family distraught.

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Speaking at their Oswaldtwistle home yesterday, Chris and Janine paid tribute to their “constantly smiling” daughter.

Janine said: “I’m amazed how many people thought so much of her.

“She touched so many hearts.”

And ex-soldier Chris, who was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Afghanistan in 2010, said: “She made us proud.

“We are privileged to have spent that time with her.

“We just wish she did not have to suffer.”

Ava-Jai was just four months old when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

After responding well to chemotherapy, she had a bone marrow transplant to cut the risk of the cancer returning.

Chris, 28, said: “It worked but her immune system and her T cells, which make her blood, failed.

“She had a T cell top up which worked, but she was off. She was always asleep.”

Various tests were carried out by doctors, while MRI scans showed Ava-Jai’s brain was losing mass.

Doctors broke the heartbreaking news that Ava-Jai, who was on a ventilator to help her breathe, was dying.

“There was no quality of life and, neurologically, she was not there,” Chris said.

“She never woke up.

“We brought her home because we did not want her to die at hospital.”

Ava-Jai died in her parents’ arms in the early hours of the morning last Friday, 12 hours after medics turned off her ventilator.

She left behind her twin brother William, who is 15 months old, and elder brother Brandon, 18.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Wednesday to determine the cause of death, with the results expected within the next month.

At around 9.45am on Monday, a horse-drawn carriage will carry Ava-Jai from the family home in Apple Tree Way to Pleasington Crematorium.

Mourners have been asked to wear pink.

Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to Ward 84, and the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Manchester Children’s Hospital, via Champ Funeral Services in Clayton-le-Moors.

Janine said the couple also wanted to thank the various charities that supported the family during their darkest hour.

These include Ronald McDonald House, which accommodated the family in Manchester, Derian House Children’s Hospice, Clic Sargent, Rainbow Trust, as well as their “amazing friends and family”.