Dad donates liver to daughter

Lucy Ellen, now 11-months-old from Lisburn was suffering from biliary atresia a rare life threatening condition that effects one in 20,000 babies.

When she was just five weeks old she was moved from the Ulster Hospital to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where she underwent major surgery.

The baby was discharged two weeks later but because she showed no sign of improvement the family were told the only other option would be a liver transplant.

In June, her health deteriated so rapidly that within weeks she was literally fightihng for her life. She spent four weeks on the top of the waiting list.

It seemed unlikely that surgeons would ever find a donor liver in time but it was Lucy Ellen’s dad who stepped forward and risked his own life to donate part of his liver to save his desperately ill daughter.

The family spent 17 long weeks in Birmingham away from the rest of their family Dylan (3) Ryan (10) and Corey (17).

While Edward was in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital his daughter was lying in the Birmingham Hospital for Sick Children.

The family’s plight was shown recently in BBC Children’s Hospital - The Chaplains.

Luckily the operation was a success. Edward had 25 per cent of his liver removed during three hours of surgery. It was then taken across the city to the Children’s Hospital in a race against time to place it in his daughter’s tiny body.

It was another several weeks before they discovered the operation was a resounding success.

Lucy Ellen spent weeks in intensive care before she could go home with her family back to Lisburn.

Her mother Marianne Johnston said,

“Lucy Ellen was an urgent case when she was on the list,” said Marianne. “She was very jaundiced and though classed as urgent she was on the list for four weeks. “

Marianne says her daughter is now a thriving cheery 11 month old.

“It’s only the last two to three weeks that we have seen a vast improvement. We think that she took an infection when she did simply because her immune system was so badly infected. It’s now just a matter of her getting her strength back and getting her strong again.”

She praised her family for helping her get through such a rough time.

“I could not have done all of this without my family who have been great,” she said. “We were away from our own family for 17 weeks which was hard but it was worth it.

“Edward is doing fine too. His parents came over so while he was in one hospital with his mum and dad was in the the other with Lucy Ellen.”

You can watch the BBC programme Children’s Hospital - The Chaplains www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/.../childrens-hospital-the-chaplains-episode-2

Earlier this year, fundraiser ‘Lucyfest 2014’ was held to raise money for three charities chosen by Marianne and Edward. These include the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation and Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham and the Royal Victoria Hospital Liver Support Group in Northern Ireland.