Conwy pair scoop gold at Transplant Games
TWO children from Conwy scooped up medals at an annual games competition for people whose lives have been changed by having transplants.
Ella Noon, nine, from Llandudno Junction, and 10-yearold Dylan Murphy from Cerrigydrudion, both overcame the odds as small children and have gone on to show that they can still compete with the best of them.
In 2008 Ella received a liver transplant as did Dylan when he was just 11 months old.
And Dylan was born with a very rare liver condition called Biliary Atresia, which meant his liver didn’t work properly.
Six hundred competitors took part in the British Transplant Games, which have been staged annually since 1978 in cities across the UK, and all those taking part have received some form of a transplant.
Dylan’s mum Kay said: “We didn’t know what to expect when we went to the games, but it turned out to be an incredible experience and surpassed all our expectations.
“Dylan won silver, in the obstacle course, silver in cycling, silver in the 25m freestyle swim and gold in the three kilometre mini-marathon and The Alfred Sutton Memorial Cup for the best overall competitor for Kings Children’s Transplant Team.
“Dylan wants to go again next year, but it’s not all about the winning, many children competing have other illnesses to deal with besides having had a transplant and the biggest cheers of the day went to the ones who trailed well behind but didn’t give up and struggled to the finish line.
“The games also celebrated the donor families because without them none of us would be there.”
Ella also took part in last year’s games scooping four medals. This year she met her donor’s family for the first time, and the family came to cheer her on in Newcastle.
Her mum Andrea said: “We were so proud of her doing the 3km race, she beat many of the adults taking part.
“She ran like her life depended on it, and completed it in just 19 minutes – the other competitors took over 30 minutes.
“But such was her determination, she did too much and collapsed at the finishing line and vomited everywhere.
“She was taken to hospital as she was dehydrated, but she told me she didn’t care as long as she won gold.”