It was an ordinary Saturday morning in July 2021 when our healthy little girl, Fearne started to vomit blood. It was terrifying . We were rushed to our local hospital in Scotland but after a few days we were told that we would be need to be transferred to the specialist children’s liver unit at London’s Kings College hospital.
It was at Kings that Fearne was diagnosed with portal hypertension caused by a portal vein thrombosis. And it was also here that we first found out about CLDF because doctors handed us leaflets for us to read and start to understand Fearne’s condition. We found these very helpful. Then when I checked on the website and saw that CLDF had a Facebook page I made a point of following that. Knowing the organisation is there helps you feel not alone in such a difficult time.
Over the next few months our lives were turned upside down. We have two children- our son Easton was ten at the time – and as parents you have to do right by them both. We had no choice but to split the family up for a time. I stayed in London with Fearne and my husband Brian took our son back to Scotland. I reached out to CLDF at this point as they have great support for families and siblings.
In May 2022 after several banding procedures and more severe bleeds Fearne underwent major mezo rex shunt surgery to bypass the blood clot in her portal vein. Happily it was a success and now Fearne is keeping well and attends our local hospital in Dundee, 40 miles away from our home in Brechin for regular check-ups.
In her spare time Fearne loves to dance. She had a dance party for her 9th birthday and instead of gifts she kindly asked her friends for a donation towards CLDF – a request which I shared on Facebook. She went on to raise over £800 for such a fantastic charity – a result she was delighted with.
We don’t know what Fearne’s future holds but we remain positive and live a day at a time. Knowing CLDF is there is such a huge support. As a parent with a sick child it can be a very lonely life. We know CLDF is there when we need them, and that’s the reason we chose it for her birthday fundraiser.
