A week after undergoing brain surgery, seven-year-old Isabella Scarry was happily running around the Camp Simcha family retreat, the scarf bought to cover the scar on her head forgotten in the excitement.

Isabella, from Ilford, suffers from severe epilepsy. She had her first seizure at 15 months and, for the past three years, her epilepsy has been so severe that her parents, Jemma and Wesley, have been unable to arrange a family break. It is hoped the surgery will reduce the frequency and severity of the fits.

Along with their other daughter, Hannah, the Scarrys were among 200 family members who joined one of the two three-day getaways in Oxford and Basingstoke organised by the charity.

Supporting families in the Jewish community coping with serious childhood illness, Camp Simcha supplements its day-to-day emotional and practical support with four annual retreats.

The latest included a winter wonderland, 3D cinema, a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory day, theme-park trips and a candlelit dinner for parents. It was also an opportunity for the adults to share experiences with others in a similar position.

Mrs Scarry said: "This was our first retreat and it was like nothing we've ever experienced. Watching our girls enjoy themselves to the extent they did was utterly amazing for us.

"We haven't heard Bella laugh like she did this weekend in so, so long. With all that she has been through, to see her like that a week post-surgery was pure joy. Bella felt so comfortable with all of Camp Simcha's big brothers and sisters that she didn't want to wear the headscarf she had insisted I rush out and buy for her!"