Amazing Ollie’s first day of school
Brave boy defied docs to make it
He’s got every right to be smiling – because young Ollie Murphy beat all the odds to make it to his first day at school.
The plucky five- yearold started at Prestwick’s Glenburn Primary last week and was all smiles alongside twin sister Leah.
But Ollie was born with a severe case of haemophilia, a genetic disorder that stops blood clotting.
He nearly died when he was three months old after a bleed on the brain – and doctors worried he’d been assaulted.
But he was diagnosed with haemophilia A and has had to face countless visits for life- saving treatment at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.
Mum Alison said: “I can’t believe the day is here. Ollie really is a miracle and they are both so excited.
“We’re blessed with such a happy little boy in our lives. He’s reached all his milestones.”
His twin sister Leah has a milder form of haemophilia, and Alison praised her and big sister Ava, eight, for the help they have given her over the years.
She said: “They’re an inspiration to me.”
Ollie and his family were forced to travel from their Prestwick homee to the Schiehallion ward at the Govan superhospital.
He received doses of protein, known as factor, to help his blood clot.
But thanks to a clinical trial, Ollie now gets his factor at home – meaning he was at full fitness for the first day of primary one.
Mum Alison said her family would never have experienced the special moment thanks to the support of the haemophilia team on the ward and Ollie’s haemophilia nurse specialist, Aileen Gibson.
She shared his story as part of the Schiehallion Appeal, a partnership b e t w e e n G l a s g ow Children’s Hospital Charity and our sister paper, the Daily Record.
They are aiming to raise £ 500,000 to help more children like Ollie benefit from clinical trials.