Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Dad donated liver to save my life - and now I’m set to compete for Great Britain’
When she was a toddler, Lilly Beckett’s parents were told their daughter might not live beyond the age of five. But following a life-saving liver transplant from her father, the youngster made a full recovery - and is now set to become an international at
Lilly Beckett is sitting in her living room in Westbrook, Margate. Lying on the floor by her feet is the 15-yearold’s Cockapoo, Rosie. On the sofa opposite the teenager are her parents, Kirstey and James. Behind the pair are countless family photos. This looks like a regular family and Lilly looks like a normal teenage girl. She’s polite, and smiles as we talk about potential career choices.
But she’s not like most youngsters. In 2008, doctors told Kirstey and James their little girl might not live long beyond the age of five. Concerns were first raised when a health visitor noticed Lilly - who was just four weeks old at the time - was yellow in complexion during a check-up at their former Snodland home. “She looked jaundiced, but seemed quite happy. She ate well, looked well, and laughed as the health visitor looked over her,” Kirstey recalls.
“To then be told to go straight to A&E, without knowing what the issue could be, was very scary.
“I remember the day we went into Maidstone hospital because we had to spend the whole weekend sitting in uncertainty. “They carried out blood tests, and Lilly screamed endlessly as doctors took what felt like bottles of blood from her tiny body. “It was awful to see, and then to sit there all weekend, not knowing what was wrong, added to the nerves.” Jaundice in babies isn’t uncommon, but they usually shake it off within two weeks of birth. After that, it can indicate issues with the liver, pancreas or gallbladder.
Lilly underwent further tests at King’s College Hospital in London, before she was diagnosed with biliary atresia - which affects one in 15,000 newborns. Survival rates range between 30% and 55% for five-year-olds.
Upon receiving the news, her parents were instructed not to look it up on Google. “We were told it was a relatively rare condition where the bile ducts become blocked up, stopping bile moving from the liver to the small inteskirstey tine,” continues. “We were told that an operation would be needed called a Kasai procedure, which was believed to be mostly successful.
“In my mind, I felt we could fix it and that it would get better.”
For a while, it did. The
Kasai procedure - which sees part of the small intestine replace the damaged bile ducts - worked and soon Lilly’s health issues settled down.
But when she came down with a cold six months later, the jaundice returned. For several days, Kirstey says, it seemed like “everybody under the sun had to run a test of some sort on Lilly”. “We then received the news that, without successful treatment, Lilly might not make it to school age,” the 52-yearadds. old Without a liver donor, Lilly would be lucky to make it to the age of five.
They waited for months for one, to no avail. It was at this point the opportunity to be a living donor was presented to James and Kirstey.
If either of their blood types matched with Lilly’s, they might have been suitable candidates to give their daughter part of their liver.
The results were positive, setting the wheels in motion for her dad to be her donor.
“It felt like a lifetime of tests and waiting around. James had to undergo another three months of testing,” Kirstey says. “And there was no guarantee Lilly’s body would accept the liver. If it was rejected, then what would happen?” By September 2008, the surgery had been given the go-ahead by doctors. James was the first to go under the knife, as surgeons worked for eight hours to remove 20% of his liver. Her dad remembers speaking to the surgeon just before going under the knife.
“For me, it was never a choice, because this was the only decision,” says the 67-year-old. “It
was the best thing for my daughter and that’s that.” Afterwards, a team including Nigel Heaton, the doctor who carried out George Best’s liver transplant, operated on Lilly. Kirstey recalls the moment her unwavering belief in her daughter was reaffirmed when - while in intensive care - she had her first post-op meal.
“They wanted to put her on a feeding tube due to her condition,” explains the school secretary.
“But she knocked back milk and honey in the first week like it was nothing.”
She spent a month in hospital recovering before being discharged. Life began to fall back into place for the family. An enduring legacy of the procedure is Lilly will have to take immunosuppressants for the rest of her life to stop her body rejecting the liver. Despite this, her loved ones say they are fortunate not to have experienced a flare-up since.
In fact, Lilly has grown up to be incredibly healthy. Seven years ago, a nine-year-old Lilly travelled up to Liverpool for her first visit to the British Transplant Games.
The event allows transplant patients from hospitals around Britain to compete in sporting events, representing the hospital they had their operation at. That year, she came away with silver and bronze medals. “Lilly was the type of kid who would be running round, stop to throw up then just keep on going,” recalls Kirstey. “She can’t compete in so-called ‘typical’ athletics, as she has to take steroids.
“It’s such a minute amount that it would never actually affect her performance.” Lilly - who trains with Thanet Athletics Club twice a week would subsequently take part in four more versions of the event, a number that would have been higher if not for Covid.
Her achievements haven’t gone unnoticed, having been invited to represent Great Britain in the World Transplant Games in April.
Over the course of the event, more than 1,000 athletes from 60 different countries will take part in a total of 17 sporting events. “When I think back, I get quite upset thinking about Lilly’s early years,” says Kirstey. “But they’ve made her who she is today, and we couldn’t be prouder.
“The idea of transplant is for the recipient to live their life to its fullest, and Lilly has done that and then some.” When the Becketts travel to Perth, Australia, they’ll watch Lilly take part in the 100m, 200m and 5k runs. She will also be involved in swimming and volleyball events.
Sat watching the teen particularly closely will be her dad, the man who made all of this possible. His daughter has gone from an extremely poorly toddler to a fully-fledged sportswoman. With her 16th birthday coming up, Lilly plans to use her special day as a chance to raise some of the funds needed to go to the World Transplant Games. “Overall, it’ll cost about £4,000, so it’s a lot of money,” she explains.
“I decided to start a Justgiving page so people can donate more easily.”
Lilly will never be able to drink alcohol and will always have to take immunosuppressants. She’ll continue having blood taken every six months and will need annual check-ups and scans.
But by the end of April, she’ll be an international athlete, a fact which causes her mum to well up.
“It’s pretty cool,” Lilly smiles. “I haven’t thought about it too much, but I’m sure when it sets in it’ll be something I’ll never forget.”
“We then received the news that, without successful treatment, Lilly might not make it to school age...”