Zoo day just animal magic
Kayla (10) gets to be keeper for day
A girl who contracted a serious disease from eating fish became a zoo keeper at Blair Drummond Safari Park for the day.
Kayla McCulloch developed autoimmune hepatitis, believed to have come from fish which had been stored next to mussels, whilst on a holiday in Spain in 2015.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a liver condition which causes the body to attack its own cells.
Common symptoms include tiredness, feeling generally unwell, mild joint or muscle pains and nausea.
The 10–year old will need a liver transplant at some stage of her life and has created a bucket list of things she hopes to do before she becomes too ill.
Staff at the safari park helped to fulfil one of Kayla’s ambitions by inviting her and her family to spend the day helping care for the animals.
Kayla, sister Chloe (13), mum Elaine and dad Marc visited the park on Friday, June 29.
Elaine said: “Kayla is coping with a life-long condition now, so the liver will attack itself and she has to take quite a lot of medication.
“At some point in her life she will need a liver transplant. It could be at any point but she will need one.
“She has this list of things she wants to do before she becomes too ill.
“She absolutely loves animals and I contacted Blair Drummond Safari Park to ask if they offer a zoo-keeping experience that we could buy, the safari park got back to me and actually donated the experience to Kayla which was just amazing.
“Kayla and Chloe got to help look after some of the animals. They started off with the donkeys and alpacas and moved on to sheep goats and lemurs, where one of them developed a fascination with a plait in Kayla’s hair.
“We’d really like to thank the team at Blair Drummond for their donation and contribution to Kayla’s ‘bucket list’. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”
The youngster, from Clydebank, has so far raised around £6,000 for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, a charity which has delivered support and information to the family.
At some point she will need a liver transplant. She has a list of things she wants to do before she becomes too ill