Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Thank you.. for our greatest gift
Moving letter to the tragic family who saved toddler
LITTLE Ellie Cowan’s delighted parents spent their first Christmas at home with her yesterday – a day they once thought they’d never see.
A year ago they were waiting for a liver transplant to save Ellie as her life ebbed away.
Mum Ashleigh and dad David knew only too well what it would mean for another family if that happened.
So last week, in a touching tribute, they wrote a thank-you letter to the donor’s parents for a Christmas gift like no other.
SADNESS
David, 32, said: “Last year was a great Christmas for us because Ellie’s life was saved.
“But for another family there would have been sadness. That family will for ever be in our thoughts for deciding to give our daughter the chance of life.”
Watching 22-month-old Ellie excitedly opening presents at home was a far cry from the hell the family endured last year.
The youngster had been in hospital since her birth in February 2020 and had undergone life-saving stomach surgery to remove half of her bowel within hours of being delivered.
Two months later, just as her parents thought she’d turned a corner and would be able to return to their Belfast home, they were left reeling as Ellie fell ill with severe jaundice.
Doctors were baffled so she was flown 300 miles to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for specialist care.
Soon after arrival, Ellie was diagnosed with life-threatening biliary atresia – where the bile duct becomes blocked, further damaging the liver.
Her parents were told she would need a liver transplant but would have to wait for it at home, under the care of the hospital in Belfast, as she was too small for surgery.
Ashleigh, 38, said: “They said she needed to be safe for a major operation but at the same time, she was getting sicker and more in need of the transplant.”
Ellie was finally placed on the transplant list in October. And after a further agonising twomonth wait, the family got their best-ever Christmas present.
On December 22, Ashleigh got the call she had been dreaming of – and was told that Ellie’s transplant would take place later that day.
She said: “It was a massive relief. But then I had the anxiety of her having major surgery.”
After more than eight hours in the operating theatre, Ellie was taken to intensive care to be reunited with her mum.
And astonishingly, just three days after the operation, she was well enough to receive a visit from Santa on the ward.
Engineer David said: “We will be for ever thankful to the hospital, the donor and his family for giving our baby a second chance at life.
“We now have many Christmases to look forward to as a family.”
Ellie came home for good last February and enjoyed a big celebration with her mum, dad and big brother Harry, nine. Special needs teacher Ashleigh said: “It was tough being separated from David and Harry for so long. We are all
making up for lost time together. Ellie is really enjoying her first Christmas at home.
“Harry was asking for a brother or sister and when Ellie came along, she spent most of her time in hospital so now he’s making up for lost time.”
In the run-up to the family’s first proper Christmas, the Cowans’ thoughts turned to the donor’s family.
Ashleigh said: “We wrote to them the other day to say thank you for what they did. We only know the donor was a 23-yearold man. They were able to
divide and share his liver between Ellie and another person. We thought writing close to the anniversary might help his family at a time of sad memories. Some good has come out of someone else’s loss.
“We included some photos of Ellie and maybe one day, we will be able to meet them and thank them in person.”
Support Birmingham Hospital Children’s Charity through its Christmas appeal, bch.org.uk/ christmas. Join the organ donor register at organdonation.nhs.uk