Mum’s wait for a donor
AYOUNG mum is facing an anxious wait for a crucial double lung transplant to enable her to live a normal life again.
Naomi Hulme, 22, is battling cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition which over the last three months has caused the condition of her lungs to rapidly deteriorate.
Naomi, who is mum to four-year-old Leo, needs oxygen 24 hours a day, is wheelchair-bound and fed through a tube.
Naomi’s only chance of living a normal life is to find a new pair of lungs. She is currently on the organ donor waiting list.
Her mum, Jackie, said: “The last few months have been incredibly difficult. Naomi has lived with cystic fibro- sis since she was diagnosed with it when she was two, but in the last three months her lungs worsened considerably.
“We are all desperate to find a donor so that our little girl can live a normal life with her son. All she wants to do is be at home with Leo, one of the only times she has managed to get out of hospital recently was to pick him up from his first day at school.”
Naomi, of Knights Close, Macclesfield, has spent three of the past five months being cared for at the Wythenshaw Hospital
But Jackie says even finding a suitable match is no guarantee that the operation will be a suc
cess, though it is Nao- mi’s last chance at a normal life. She said: “Even if they find a match it’s not definite that the operation will be a success. The doctors will have to do a series of tests before the operation can even go ahead.
“It is heartbreaking, we are all just sat here not knowing what is going to happen. All Leo wants to do is be with his mum, and all Naomi wants to do is be with her son.”
Lita Louis, a friend of the family, has taken it upon herself to raise awareness of Naomi’s plight and do what she can to help the family.
Lita said: “Naomi has got an infection.
“She was rushed to hos- pital last week after getting out to be with Leo after he went to have his tonsils out. We are telling people how important it is to sign up to the organ donor register. Just taking a few seconds to do so can save someone’s life.”
To help care for Leo while former Tytherington School pupil Naomi is in hospital, her dad Barrie has had to give up his job as a scrapyard worker.
Lita has organised a fundraising event to help the Hulme’ financially as they struggle to cope.
The event will take place on Saturday, October 11, at The Queen’s Hotel, Sunderland Street, Macclesfield.
During the night, which starts at 7pm, there will also be a raffle, which will be drawn on October 31. To buy a ticket, call Lita on 07591
677039.