RARE DISORDER LEFT HARRISON UNABLE TO MOVE
AHEALTHY boy became unable to move or breathe unaided after contracting a rare immune disorder. When Harrison, then aged four, became unwell with scarlet fever, he initially seemed to get better.
But a few weeks after getting the infection, he woke in the night with a rash developing on his legs.
He was taken to his local hospital where doctors were left bewildered as to what was making him so unwell.
Meanwhile, his condition was quickly getting worse and he started complaining of a burning sensation in his legs.
His mum Alex said: “Whatever it was seemed to be rising from his legs up. What started as unsteadiness on his feet progressed to no sensation in his legs leaving him unable to walk.
“His voice also became very squeaky and while he had a little cough, it was as if he was unable to clear his throat with a full cough.”
He was rushed to the critical care unit at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital in Cardiff.
Overnight, he went from a happy, active little boy to a child who couldn’t move, eat or breathe for himself.
He was sedated and ventilated for three weeks while doctors tried to control his symptoms – and his shock change in condition was later diagnosed as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder affecting the peripheral nerves.
The syndrome is often preceded by a viral infection like Harrison’s, which makes the immune system attack itself.
It usually starts in the lower limbs, resulting in weak muscles or paralysis.
After a nerve-racking wait for the whole family, Harrison was weaned off the ventilator to the point where he is now able to breathe unaided.
He was moved to the hospital’s Island Ward where occupational therapists and physiotherapists have helped him with his rehabilitation. His goal is now to get into the pool by himself when he visits Center Parcs later this year.
Earlier in April, Harrison celebrated his fifth birthday with something very special.
Two months into his stay at Noah’s Ark, an orange Lamborghini came to visit – organised by “sparkle co-ordinator” Emily, who works with the play team on Island ward to brighten up Harrison’s days.
Emily started taking therapy dogs in to visit Harrison while he was still in critical care, and brought him treats and glitter tattoos when his condition improved.
Alex said: “Emily is absolutely amazing. She has made the effort to get to know Harrison and his likes and dislikes, so when it came to his birthday she knew exactly what to do.
“Harrison was absolutely amazed to be taken outside to sit in a real Lamborghini and be given a mini version of the car as a gift, though we all laughed when he was almost as excited to spot a passing bus.
“You could see that Emily was so genuinely happy for him on his birthday which as a mum was such a lovely thing to see.”
A Noah’s Ark spokesperson added: “Harrison’s recovery to date has been a testament to the resilient little boy he is.
“Harrison’s story is an example of the many touchpoints our supporters have in the care of young patients at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales. Your donations helped to build the hospital that houses all the specialist teams involved in Harrison’s recovery. You helped fund the machines that helped Harrison breathe when he wasn’t able to and the play team who support and distract Harrison through play.
“You also make it possible to fund sparkle co-ordinator Emily, whose sole job is to bring smiles and happiness to the lives of young children in hospital.”
Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital is holding its Superhero 5K family fun day on Sunday, June 30, where people can walk, wheel or jog to raise funds to support young patients.
IT’S 6am and Kazzy Minton excitedly shuffles her chair towards the computer in her home office in Freshwater East, Pembrokeshire. Until about 8am she’ll enter as many competitions as she can, and then she’ll get on with her day.
She is perfectly prepared. Bookmarks in her Google Chrome app show a selection of potential wins, while her diary on the desk reminds her of upcoming digital competitions.
Kazzy is one of the UK’s growing number of “compers” who invest their spare time in entering prize draws.
Groups on Facebook, where competitions and tips are posted, are growing by the day, with many already in the tens of thousands of members.
Many of the giveaways only require your name and contact details to be entered, or a social media account where you can like, share or tag friends in posts.
Others ask the comper to buy a specific product, while some take more effort like making a video or taking a creative photograph.
“This is a potential instant win,” Kazzy, a colourful and bouncy character, says of one of the bookmarks.
“At the moment Walkers crisps has got a big competition draw, but throughout the draw you get a chance to win instantly by simply putting your details in every day.
“I do those instant wins at 6am when there aren’t many people entering. Then I do the dailies, then the weeklies, then the monthlies, then radio and TV, then there’s creative where I usually have to make a video on TikTok or Instagram.
“Most of them I can get done in 45 minutes, but the creative ones can take longer. There are thousands of compers who’ll enter easy instant wins, but you don’t get as many entering the creative competitions which require more from the comper.
“I edit all my videos myself and put voiceovers to them. It’s a hobby really, I absolutely love it.”
It sounds like a lot for Kazzy, who is 63, on top of her three jobs. She’s an independent social worker, looks after the books for her partner Lee’s tattoo business, and runs her own sewing business and workshops. She is also in her final year of her PhD course in children’s play.
“I always feel a need to fill my time and my life,” she says.
“My daughter Abigail died very young and after she passed away I didn’t know what to do with myself. I lost my job after that, and so I went off to uni and became a bit obsessed with being busy. I think it was about trying to get through the grief in some way by filling my life up.
“There has always been a little need in me to live my life for my daughter who couldn’t have hers. My PhD isn’t to take on anywhere afterwards, I just wanted to do it for my own sense of achievement. It’s one of many courses I’ve done.”
Not one for doing anything by halves, when comping became part of her life, she somehow found a way to fit it into her daily routine.
“It’s not too much when you just get used to it as part of something you do all the time,” she says.
“I’m not a great sleeper. If I get six hours of sleep a night that’s brilliant for me. Because I get up so early I’m not going to start work at 6am, am I?
“I could get on the sofa and watch the telly, but I’d rather do this. I love the buzz of it, the idea that I’ve got a chance of winning while the rest of the world is asleep. They do say the early bird catches the worm.”
Since her first competition entry in 2021, Kazzy and partner Lee, who owns his own parlour on Pembroke high street, have won more than 850 prizes with a value totalling tens of thousands of pounds, including a trip to Norway, two weeks on Corona Island in South America, and a garden makeover.
They’ve also won a £4,000 diamond in a Smirnoff competition and a £6,000 all-inclusive trip for eight to Wrexham AFC. They have recently returned from Morocco after winning a competition run by Swizzels.
Asked to prove how much of a fan of Swizzels they were, Lee decided to ink the logo on his knee. “No regrets,” Kazzy laughs.
She has won 831 of the prizes herself. Now an avid comper, the only publication she subscribes to is the Compers News magazine which comes through the post once a month for just under £5, while many of her friends are also compers. She mostly considers herself a creative comper and a purchase necessary comper. Creative could be anything from a picture posted to social media to a video on YouTube, while purchase necessary means the comper has to buy the product to have a chance of winning.
Kazzy says: “Lee loves chocolate, beer and crisps. So if I’m going to put those things in the trolley, why not look at which has got a competition going and have a chance of winning something as well?”
Her lucky streak started from her first entry: a pair of daffodil earrings from a competition by Henryka Jewellery three years ago.
“My sister sent it to me because she knows how much the daffodil symbol means to me,” Kazzy explains. “It was weird. Sometimes you get those funny feelings and I really knew I was going to win them.
“My younger sister did these competitions often. I honestly used to think: ‘I don’t know how she’s got the time for that.’ But I saw these daffodils and I saw Abigail in them.
“On the last day she was well enough to come out of hospital, we took her to Singleton Park in Swansea and daffodils were in bloom everywhere.
“I know it sounds silly but I felt like the competition had been sent to me. All you had to do to win was like the page, like the post and tag someone, so I tagged my sister back. A few days later I got an email saying I’d won.”
A couple of weeks later she won a Pringles competition for an Xbox.
“I got the bug then,” she says. “My children couldn’t believe it. My daughter had been waiting for months for one. They all wanted it so I had to spin the wheel to decide who got it.
“I then joined the Lucky Learners group on Facebook and realised there is a whole community of compers that are so generous and send each other competitions.
“It’s a fabulous network of people. I’ve made really lovely friends on there. In fact my comping friend Annie in Scotland, who I met