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Sophie still can’t swallow, but she won’t be beaten
 Claire, with Sophie on her knee, Jack and nurserymate Laura Muir hold the cheque for our appeal after the children of Portlethen’s Great Western Preschool did their sponsored walk.
By
Kris Gilmartin
IN March, we told the story of Sophie Shand, from Portlethen, and her reflux problems.
 Sophie was just 13 months old when The Sunday Post visited her at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital where
she’d undergone an upper-endoscopy exam that day.
Doctors didn’t know why she was unable to swallow food or drink without bringing it back up.
They hoped the endoscopy would reveal the cause of her problems, but thus far it has proved fruitless.
Over the last seven months Sophie’s condition has improved very slightly, but top paediatricians in Aberdeen are no further forwards in establishing a full diagnosis.
Having been a regular at the hospital since we last met, Sophie
is now being referred to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for further tests.
And life for Sophie and her family hasn’t been easy these past months, with Sophie now being fed and watered via a gastrostomy tube and mum Claire giving up her
job to care for her full-time.
However, with the generosity of The Sunday Post readers and their continuing support for Scotland’s four major children’s hospitals, the new
£41,000 endoscopy machine RACH needs could be one step closer to becoming reality.
Sophie’s nursery in Portlethen, Great Western Preschool, organised a sponsored walk and raised another
£895 for The Sunday Post’s campaign.
Surprise
“The nursery have been fantastic,” says Claire, “Sophie and Jack’s teachers decided to get the two classes together to do a sponsored walk around Portlethen, which was a nice surprise.
“But they’ve really helped us out when Sophie’s been in hospital.
“They’ve taken my son Jack in for extra days and at short notice, as well as giving him a structured environment, which is really important.”
In fact big brother Jack (4) is also helping mum Claire out at home.
“He’s great, he knows how to help her. He’ll come and get me if she’s choking — it’s always good to have another pair of hands at home.”
Despite 20 months of testing by doctors, the mystery of her illness still remains, although her condition is at least stable.
“She’s slightly better,” explains Claire.
“She’s had a gastrostomy tube fitted into her stomach, which means she’s tube-fed — we don’t feed her orally at all.
Doesn’t work
“We have tried to feed her in
the normal way again, but it just doesn’t work. She just gets worse and starts choking.
“She’ll be up through the night crying and be really unsettled — it’s such a shame for her.”
Although the Shand family have been through a tough time, Claire
is looking to the future.
“It’s been a difficult seven months, I had to give up work in May and we pulled Sophie out of nursery too.
“We’re hoping to get her back into nursery soon. But we need to get one-on-one support so she still has that additional support in case she chokes.
“But Sophie is still a happy little girl. She has put up with so much but is still so good — it’s amazing how resilient children can be.
“We’re now waiting for an appointment at Great Ormond Street. She’ll undergo more tests and hopefully we’ll see if there is a second cause for her reflux.
“I think they have more specialist equipment which might determine the problem.”
The aim of The Sunday Post’s Sick Children’s Appeal is to help raise enough money so Sophie could be treated nearer home.
 IF YOU have a
special reason for contributing to or raising funds for our appeal
then we’d like to hear from you.
It could be that
you’d like to thank caring staff for the treatment they’ve
provided in your hour of need. Or perhaps a relative spent time in
one of Scotland’s children’s hospitals and the experience has
left a lasting impression on your family’s life.
Whatever the reason,
please let us know.
We’d be delighted
to share your experiences with our readers. And, who knows,
it may inspire others to follow in your fund-raising footsteps.
Back
to campaign main page
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You can e-mail us at:
hospitals@sundaypost.com |
