Couple raising cash for MRI scanner

A NEWBUILDINGS couple whose daughter almost died from a rare strain of meningitis have begun fundraising for an MRI scanner for the Children’s Hospital in Belfast.

Sharon and David Slater’s little girl, Millie, were shocked at how long it could take for seriously ill children to get an appointment for an MRI scan at the Royal Victoria, that they have decided to fundraise and raise awareness for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children’s ‘Children’s MRI Scanner Appeal’.

A couple of years ago the couple, from Duncastle Park, thought they might lose Millie because she developed optic neuritis and the rare brain disorder Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis - something that manifests itself four weeks after meningitis. However their little girl developed optic neuritis, which is so rare the doctors in the Royal could only find one documented case in the world and were in contact with a specialist in Australia in a bid to try and treat Millie.

Her parents believe that she may be only the second person in the world to have developed Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis with meningitis, having been initially treated for tuberculosis meningitis. The doctors treated her compiled her notes and took video documentation of her illness which formed the basis of a case study at a high-powered medical conference in Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Thankfully a few years have now passed and the months of prolonged illness that Millie suffered have ended, but Sharon and David are acutely aware that other parents desperately need access to an MRI scanner so that their children can receive accurate diagnosis and medical help.

“While Millie was in the Children’s Hospital she had numerous MRI scans to try and diagnose what was wrong with her. As far as we know only two other children in the EU have suffered the same illness as Millie, so it is quite rare, and the MRI scans that were done...some of those were used to try and diagnose what she had.

“However, when she needed her scans Millie had to be transported to the Royal Victoria hospital where the main scanner is. Now, to do that the hospital staff had to organise an ambulance, two paramedics, a doctor and nurses as well as an anaesthetist, and they all had to either check her out or go with her and the whole process took about one and a half hours,” said dad David.

Sharon added: “At one stage Millie could not walk and she lost her eyesight too. They had to move her in the freezing cold for the scans but it is only because of the diagnosis using the scanner that she did not lose her her eyesight altogether.”

At the time that Millie was ill the weather was extremely bleak, and frequently the little girl had to transported in sub-zero temperatures, which was far from ideal.

That is why David and Sharon have now committed themselves to an awareness campaign for the need to instal a scanner at the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, and have committed themselves to the hospital’s MRI Scanner appeal, which will be for the sole use of ill children and which will be based at the Hospital for Sick Children.

According to Sharon, it is going to take around £2 million to buy and instal the scanner, and to date around £860,000 has been raised.

The couple were invited to the annual DUP dinner and asked if they could raise the appeal, and David was allowed to speak at the event, and afterwards £475 was collected for the scanner appeal.

The scanner appeal is being done in conjunction with the charities Helping Hands, CCFU, the Carrickmannon MRI Scanner Appeal and the Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

“The way things are at the moment, children who are very seriously ill may have to wait up to two weeks to get a slot for the MRI scanner in the Royal Victoria. Some of these children are dying before they get their scan and diagnosis. The burden on them is enormous. The hospital really needs this scanner,” said Sharon.

Parents up there are waiting by their children’s bedsides 24-hours a day, waiting for news of when they are going to get a scan,” she said, while David said that some are even being sent to Dublin just to get access to a scanner.

Sharon added: “We are doing this to help other parents. We never thought that something like that would happen to us, and nobody needs the extra pressure of waiting for resources to become available. IN addition to raising money ourselves, we would be happy to hear from anybody, any business, school or community group that can help in any way with fundraising or making donations and raising awareness,” she said.

Anyone who can help the couple is asked to telephone 07766528178 and ask for either Sharon or David.

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