BALANCE doesn’t come easy to any two-year-old but for little Natalya Anderson staying upright is impossible.

The toddler from Hawick was diagnosed with a brainstem glioma last October.

Despite four operations to control the cancerous tumour, it continues to restrict her breathing and movement.

But mum, Ashley Sim, is determined to give her little girl as normal a childhood as she can.

And later this month she will embark on a five-mile sponsored walk, between her hometown of Hawick and the village of Denholm, to raise funds to buy a specially adapted bike for Natalya.

Ashley told us: “Natalya has both a big brother and a little brother and she wants to go out and play with them. She tries to go on their bikes but just falls off - she has absolutely no balance.

“The tumour controls her breathing and almost all of her movement. I have looked into what kind of bikes we can get for Natalya but a specially adapted one, which would last her for up to four years, will cost around £1700.” Consultants believe that further treatment on Natalya’s brainstem glioma will have to wait until she is older. And the wait could be at least another year.

Ashley added: “There isn’t much more the hospital can do for us at the moment but in the future she will have to go back. The tumour isn’t as serious as it could be and we remain hopeful that the treatments will work.

“It’s a long wait until then and I want to give Natalya as much fun as we can before the next time she goes to hospital.” Ashley will embark on the sponsored walk from Hawick to Denholm on Sunday, June 29.

Several friends have already offered to join Ashley for the fundraiser with an open invitation for others to take part.

A fundraising page has been set up on Facebook called Natalya Anderson’s Sponsored Walk.