BRAVE Denis Khomenko was in agony when he arrived in a hospital casualty unit with a perforated appendix.

But he told doctors the pain was going because if he admitted the truth he thought his elderly grandmother would have to pay for medical treatment.

Minutes later 11-year-old Denis, on holiday in East Lancashire with children from Belarus, was in theatre at Blackburn Royal Infirmary undergoing life-saving surgery.

He complained of stomach pains while the party, guests of Blackburn-based Friends of Chernobyl's Children, were spending a week in Northern Ireland as part of their month's break.

When they returned to East Lancashire his condition worsened. But now he is making a good recovery .

Denis only speaks a few words of English and two interpreters , teachers who travelled with the party, took turns to sleep at the infirmary and translate for doctors on nurses. And when they had to rejoin the party they left a Russian language sheet to help medical staff.

Denis is staying with Mrs Kim Keogh, of Rydal Mount, Belthorn. She said: "He lives with his grandmother. His mother died several years ago and we're not sure what happened to his father. Even though he was in terrible pain he tried to convince everyone he was all right because he thought his grandmother would have to pay for the operation."

It is the third time Denis has stayed with Kim, her husband, Paddy and sons Anthony, 16, and Simon, 13.

Kim's sister-in-law, Mrs Olwyn Keogh, of Wilpshire, organiser for Friends of Chernobyl's Children said: "The doctors and nurses at BRI were absolutely wonderful. We cannot thank them enough."

Denis's friends return home tomorrow but when he is discharged from hospital he will stay with Kim and her family for at least 10 days.

His home city of Mogilov was badly hit by fall-out after the world's worst nuclear power plant accident a few miles away at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986.

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