PLEASE STAY AT HOME FOR AVA’S SAKE
Mum of daughter who underwent life-saving liver transplant makes plea
Mum’s plea over fears for sick daughter
The parents of seriously ill children are being asked if they would like medics to attempt saving their youngsters should they catch coronavirus.
A Paisley mother has warned everyone about the grim situation as she urges people to stay at home.
Ashley Ewing’s seven- year- old daughter Ava Hainey was born with a rare liver disease and underwent a life-saving transplant aged just eight months.
But the mother of one says she has been left “heartbroken” after learning that other parents of transplanted children across the UK have been asked if they want a Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) order added to their children’s file in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Ashley, who has been isolating with Ava at their Ferguslie home for more than two weeks, said she was made aware of what was happening by fellow parents in a support group, as well as the Children’s Liver
Disease Foundation.
“It is heartbreaking to read some other transplant families have been asked these questions by their GP,” she said.
“I noticed friends, some of them in the Liver Mums support group, had phone calls from their GPs about DNARs and if they wished to choose medical treatment for their child. “I was so shocked by that.
“It made me feel sick that anyone would even think that.
“Ava has fought to survive most of her life and now this.This is the reality for some parents.
“People need to take this seriously and stay at home.”
Ava was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease of the liver and bile ducts, just weeks after she was born.
Initially appearing healthy, Ava’s symptoms began with severe jaundice.
She was transferred to the Children’s Liver Unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital where she underwent her transplant.
“It was there that Ashley met other parents of children with the condition.
She said: “I’m hoping I never receive a letter like that.
“I know that down south it’s a lot worse than us right now.
“But you just don’t know how bad it is going to get or what is going to happen. I’m keeping her as safe as possible.”
The Children’s Liver Foundation, a charity which has supported Ava and Ashley in the past, told parents: “We are aware that some parents of children in the extremely vulnerable group are receiving calls from GP surgeries and other medical professionals about DNAR forms.
“We understand that this will cause anxiety and fear among families and young people.
“The professionals who may contact you are not intentionally trying to cause you distress and you simply need to inform them you do not agree to DNAR being in place for your child.
“With your answer, the professional can note this on their system.”
Ashley’s desperation to protect her daughter comes days after the Express revealed people were still flouting the lockdown rules in Paisley’s town centre.
We reported that frustrated cops on bikes were patrolling the High Street and asking people to go home.
Ashley added: “There’s still a minority that don’t care or think it won’t affect them. They think ‘I’m fit and healthy, I’m young’, they don’t realise they could spread it to their grandparents, children and other adults.”