Charity Helps Maltese Patient Celebrate Milestone Birthday

As a Children’s Hospital, there aren’t many of our young people who turn 18 while with us, but one special patient, Aiden Chetcuti Ray, celebrated this incredible milestone with the help of our charity.

Aiden, from Malta, has scoliosis (a curved spine) and flew over to Birmingham in October 2024 with his mum, Anne, to have surgery to correct it. The first part of his treatment was to have a halo fitted, a device which helps prepare the spine for further corrective surgery. He spent months in hospital while the halo did its work stretching and straightening the spine.

It was tough to be away from his family and friends, including his younger sister Ella, but during this time, Aiden kept himself busy by studying for his A-Levels and even managed to sit his mock exams, which he aced.

Then, in April, Aiden had the second part of his spinal surgery, which was a success. However, while recovering, he developed sepsis and became gravely ill. He was moved to our paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for urgent care and slipped into unconsciousness. It was touch and go, and there was nothing his mum, Anne, could do but patiently wait and pray. Thankfully, his condition gradually improved and he eventually woke up.

Almost immediately, Anne could tell something was wrong. Aiden wasn’t able to move in the same way he had done before, which is not unusual for someone recovering from the trauma he had just endured. However, an MRI scan confirmed Anne’s worries. While battling sepsis, Aiden had experienced two strokes, which had affected his movement on his left side, as well as his speech.

It was a further blow for the family. When they had left Malta, they were expecting to be home just three months later, but here they were many months down the line with no idea how long Aiden would take to recover from this setback. It’s certainly not where they thought they’d be celebrating Aiden’s 18th birthday in July.

Anne, plus Aiden’s sister Ella, who arrived in Birmingham in May to stay with her mother and brother, wanted to make sure his birthday was a celebration to remember for the right reasons. The hospital staff and charity were able to arrange a number of surprises for Aiden to help with that.

The day before his birthday, a special celebration was held in the hospital chapel, with lots of staff, who have become like family, attending. The chaplaincy team had arranged for several messages from family and friends back in Malta to be played, while members of Singing Medicine, a singing play group who work with patients, were on hand to sing Happy Birthday to Aiden.

On the day of his birthday, Aiden woke up with his room fully decorated with banners and balloons, plus a collection of presents for him to open.

Aiden, Anne and Ella also wanted other families on PICU to be part of the celebrations, so a special tea and cake trolley was organised to go around the unit with treats for patients and parents. Plus, our charity was able to arrange for the three of them to visit the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, getting some much-needed family time away from the ward.

Anne says: “We’ve been blown away by the support we’ve received from the hospital since we arrived. To be able to celebrate Aiden’s 18th birthday meant the world, and we’re so thankful to everyone who helped to make it special. We’ll never forget it.”

Aiden’s condition stabilised, although he needed constant care. The family hoped he could be transferred to a hospital in Malta to continue his rehabilitation, but the move would be bittersweet for the family. Anne said: “Although we were so excited to go home and be closer to family, it was hard to be in Aiden’s bedroom without him there. Plus, the staff and fellow parents at the Children’s Hospital became like family, caring for all three of us. It was to say goodbye.”