Our little Minion

SO POORLY

Our lit

Minio

I was terrified my baby wouldn’t see her first birthday Dee Lothian, 36, Eastbourne

As me and my husband Wayne, then 35, walked through our front door, newborn Tiffany in my arms, a welcome party was waiting. Our family had gathered to greet our new bundle. ‘She’s perfect!’ my motherin-law Christine cooed. Our three older kids, Harry, then 11, Ruby, 10, and Courtney, 2, crowded around their new sister. It was April 2015. I was exhausted, but it was lovely to see baby Tiffany getting so much fuss. ‘I’ll take her,’ my niece Fern, then 21, offered as Tiffany started to cry. And as soon as Fern held her, Tiffany’s tears dried up. ‘The magic touch!’ I smiled. But as the days went on, I often struggled to get Tiffany to settle. Resorted to carrying her around in a sling. ‘Do you think her skin

We were in and out of hospital Little Tiffany’s chances were slim My girl’s skin was mottled and bright yellow looks yellow?’ I asked the health visitor days later. ‘A bit of jaundice, that’s all,’ she reassured me. She suggested I put her to sleep by a window. Only, by the time Tiffany was 6 weeks old, her skin was still tinged yellow, her stomach swollen. In June 2015, the doctor agreed she needed tests. At St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, Tiffany had bloods taken and an ultrasound. ‘There’s a problem with her liver,’ a doctor confirmed. We were quickly whisked off to King’s College Hospital, London. There, specialists diagnosed Tiffany with biliary atresia, a disease of the liver. She needed surgery to remove her gall bladder, but we were sent home for a few days first. ‘Don’t look online,’ the consultant told us, handing us leaflets instead. But, that night, I couldn’t help myself. Low chance of survival, I read.

Suddenly I realised Tiffany might die. Will she live to see her first birthday? Still be here to start school? It was almost too much to bear. But I had to stay positive for Tiffany, for our other kids. ‘Tiffany is poorly,’ Wayne and I told them. By now, Tiffany’s skin was mottled and bright yellow. ‘She’s a little Minion,’ I joked, trying to cheer up Courtney, who looked down at her sister, worry etched across her face. Later that week, Tiffany went into hospital for the six-hour operation. Afterwards, she screamed out in pain. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, desperate to cuddle her. But she was attached to machines, a tube through her nose. After five days, Tiffany was allowed home. Only, her little tummy was still swollen. And in August 2015, I pulled off her socks to find her feet had turned blue. Panic-stricken, I rushed her back to hospital. She quickly deteriorated. Shivering and shaking in her cot, her temperature and heart rate shot up. ‘She needs a liver transplant or she won’t survive,’ a consultant said. But finding a match wasn’t easy. Not only did the donor need the same blood type, Tiffany was so tiny she could only take part of the liver from someone small. ‘It will be from a child,’ the consultant explained. As a living child can’t donate their liver because of the health risks, it dawned on me what this meant. I was praying a donor would come forward to save my daughter’s life, but someone else’s child would have to die first. Willing Tiffany to stay strong, I was in turmoil...

SO THANKFUL

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Liver sisters

By September 2015, Tiffany was desperately ill. She’d contracted sepsis and doctors warned that she might be too weak for a liver transplant. But me and Wayne never gave up hope. Although unlikely, we were both tested to see if we were a compatible match. But we weren’t. Then, on a rare night that Tiffany was allowed home, I heard her cry out from her cot. Picking her up, I gently rubbed her back. But she started coughing up blood. ‘Call an ambulance,’ I cried to Wa By the tim paramedics I was covere baby’s blood I knew the my little girl was dying. We were desperate to a donor, but leads that ca forward wer all found to b a poor match Days later, Fern came to visit us. ‘I’m a matc she smiled. ‘But...’ I stuttered. Fern explained th she’d been te and found to match weeks but she hadn Now Tiffany’s a cheeky schoolgirl!

Special bond: Fern and Tiffany A reason to smile: me, Wayne and the kids Almost overnight, she was like a different baby to get our hopes up. Instead, she secretly underwent the mentalhealth assessment and the further health checks that were needed. Because she was very petite, it was perfect. ‘We can go ahead with the transplant,’ she said. I couldn’t believe it. ‘It’s too risky, you’re so young,’ I sobbed, shaking my head. It was such a big operation and could result in serious complications. But Fern was determined. ‘I’ll be fine and so will Tiffany,’ she promised. Me and Wayne were overwhelmed with gratitude. Fern and Tiffany are i d have red bond. never d Fern e one to life. ember rn and ffany, were down for the eight-hour surgery. The whole family waited nervously in the hospital corridor. Surgeons removed part of Fern’s liver and transferred it to Tiffany. The liver is the only organ in the human body to regenerate. It was hoped that parts of Fern’s liver would grow back and the part she’d given to Tiffany would grow, too. Afterwards, a surgeon came to see us. ‘It was a perfect match,’ he smiled. Fern recovered quickly, but was left with a scar snaking across her tummy. ‘It’s a small price to pay,’ she said. And, almost overnight, Tiffany was like a different baby. Her yellow skin took on a healthy, rosy glow. Tiffany had a few setbacks when she contracted a virus –but in February 2016, she came home for good. And from then, she went from strength to strength. Now, it’s hard to believe our energetic 4-year-old was ever so close to dying. She loves life and is a cheeky, headstrong character who we adore. Fern, 25, lives with her boyfriend in Australia and is training to be a teacher. She’s our hero –I can never thank her enough. Tiffany calls Fern her ‘liver sister’ and they talk on the phone all the time. Taking Tiffany to her first day at school last September felt like a miracle. There were times when I thought I would never see that day. But thanks to Fern, Tiffany has a bright future ahead of her. Dee is raising funds for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. Visit childliverdisease.org