JOLLY OLLIE DAY
Wee battler heads off to classes with twin sis after five gruelling years of bravely fighting deadly illness
YOU’D never know it from his beaming face, but Ollie Murphy has fought with all his strength to be well enough to start school.
The five-year-old was born with a severe case of haemophilia, a genetic disorder that stops blood clotting.
He nearly died when he was three months old from a bleed on his brain. His illness had not been diagnosed at that stage and doctors feared he had been assaulted.
But they soon diagnosed Ollie with haemophilia A.
And since then, he and his family have made countless visits to their second home – the Schiehallion ward at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.
For a time, they had to make the 70-mile round trip from their Ayrshire home every day so medics could give Ollie a dose
of protein, known as factor, to help his blood clot.
But now, thanks to a clinical trial at Schiehallion, Ollie gets his factor at home. And the progress he has made was there for all to see as he prepared to head off to Glenburn Primary in Prestwick with twin sister Leah for their first day today.
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.”
Leah has a milder form of haemophilia, and Alison praised her and big sister Ava, eight, for all the help they have given her over the years.
“They’re an inspiration to me,” she said.
The family shared their story in support of the Schiehallion Appeal, a partnership between Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and the Record. The aim is to raise £500,000 to help more kids like Ollie benefit from clinical trials.
Alison says her family would never have got this far without the support of the haemophilia team on the ward and Ollie’s haemophilia nurse specialist, Aileen Gibson.
Visit GlasgowChildrens HospitalCharity.org or call 0141 212 8750 to learn more about the appeal or donate.