Surf Coast Times
Tuesday 28 December 2010
VOL 8. No 52
www.surfcoasttimes.com.au
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Heart transplant recipient Scarlett McGowan will be the face of the Royal Children’s Hospital annual Good Friday Appeal for 2011.
LITTLE MIRACLE Torquay’s Scarlett McGowan will be the face of next year’s Good Friday Appeal
BY ELEANOR WOODS A TORQUAY toddler has faced death and beaten the odds – surviving a heart transplant when just five months old and touching the medical and local community. Now, aged two, Scarlett McGowan is set to become the face of the Royal Children’s Hospital annual Good Friday Appeal – providing a symbol of hope for every sick child requiring a helping hand. Her parents Sam Pritchard and Jon McGowan are proud their “miracle” daughter’s face will grace billboards, buses, trams, television and other media in the statewide campaign to raise funds for the service. “We are honoured to be a part of the appeal. We
thank God the Royal Children’s Hospital was there to help us when we needed them,” Sam said. “When Scarlett got sick we were touched by the generosity of people. Even complete strangers offered financial and emotional support. It was overwhelming and will never be forgotten.” When Scarlett’s heart failed, her parents feared she could face death. “She wasn’t breathing properly. She was panting and vomiting. We took her to the doctor and we pretty much didn’t leave for four months,” Sam said. “Basically her heart had swollen and become stretched and floppy. That’s when clots can form and cause a stroke. “It was terrifying. Oh God, we were absolutely
devastated. We thought it was a death sentence. We had no idea she was so sick.” Scarlett had inherited dilated cardiomyopathy, a familial condition her grandmother had also had, in a lesser degree. Within weeks the only thing keeping Scarlett alive was a steady supply of intravenous drugs which kept her heart going; her only option to survive was a heart transplant. “They told us in the morning that there was a heart. They took her from us at about 5.30pm that night and we weren’t able to see her until 4.30am the next morning,” Sam said. “We didn’t sleep a wink. We were just in the ICU waiting and waiting.
“People say how’d you cope? Well, we didn’t. “I cried all day for the family of the child whose heart became Scarlett’s. I was just devastated. We were about to start a new journey and theirs was ending in such a tragic way. “Every time we celebrate a birthday or Christmas, we always think of the family. “We are just so lucky to have our Scarlett. We are fortunate enough to lead a relatively normal life now. But every time she is naughty I am reminded that it was her fighting spirit that got her through. “She is such a bubbly, cheeky wee thing. I am just so grateful she is here. She’s our little miracle.” To learn more about organ donation visit www. donatelife.com.au
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