Auntie who flew 10,000 miles to save little Oscar
ATODDLER whose auntie flew 10,000 miles across the globe to save his life will celebrate his first birthday this week.
Little Oscar Hughes was in desperate need of a lifesaving liver transplant after being diagnosed with biliary atresia – a rare form of liver disease – when he was just four weeks old.
At seven weeks he underwent a major operation, but it was unsuccessful, and parents Kerry and Anthony, who live in Stockport, were told that their baby boy’s best chance of survival was a live donor.
Family members jumped at the chance to try and help Oscar, all offering to donate part of their own liver, but the only suitable match was Anthony’s sister Sophie, who had emigrated to Sydney, Australia, several years earlier.
In May, the 25-year-old made the long journey to the UK and went under the knife at Leeds General Infirmary two weeks later, and doctors removed part her liver and transplanted it into tiny Oscar.
Both Sophie and Oscar have now made a full recovery – and after three months recuperating in the UK, she has flown back to her home in Australia. Kerry and Anthony say they are incredibly thankful to Sophie for saving their son.
Former business travel agent Kerry, 31, said: “It is amazing that she flew nearly ten thousand miles to save him. It was a big operation and we were very scared for both of them.
“We wanted Oscar to get better, but we were worried that Sophie was putting her own life at risk to save him.
“They have an incredible bond between them now.”
Oscar was born on October 20 last year at Stepping Hill Hospital, but never seemed to settle when his parents brought him home.
“He looked very jaundiced from the moment we got him home,” Kerry added.
“When he was four weeks old he appeared more yellow and I took him straight to the health visitor. She took one look at his colour and sent us straight to hospital.”
The family are supporting the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation’s Yellow Alert Campaign and last month Kerry abseiled 195ft down the Trafford Centre Bell Tower raising almost £2,000 for the charity.
The campaign aims to make parents more aware of liver disease in newborn babies.