Mum’s Lengths Say Thanks to Children’s Hospital

The mum of a toddler with a blood disorder raised over £2,265 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity after a swimming challenge which saw her complete 47 miles in a month.

Emily, from Worcestershire, took to the pool at her local gym every day for 30 days to complete the challenge which reflected the number of days her little girl had spent in hospital and the procedures she underwent.

Little Arya, now almost two-years-old, has a condition called Autoimmune Neutropenia, which means her immune system attacks her white blood cells, leaving her unable to fight infections. Arya was diagnosed when she was just 10-months-old, after countless back-to-back bouts of tonsillitis which seemed to recur as soon as she stopped taking antibiotics.

After many persistent trips to see her GP, a private specialist and blood tests, Arya was diagnosed and her parents got to grips with the protocols they would need to follow to prevent her becoming seriously ill. Doctors explained that every time Arya gets a fever, it should be treated as if it was sepsis until confirmed otherwise, meaning Arya would need to visit Birmingham Children’s Hospital for tests every time she became unwell.

Over the few months that followed, Arya needed to be admitted over 20 times, resulting in 30 days spent in hospital. During that time, 47 unpleasant but necessary cannulas were inserted into her hands and arms.

Thankfully most of Arya’s admissions to Birmingham Children’s Hospital were precautionary but the care she received from the doctors and nurses each time, along with the challenges Arya faced, inspired Emily to take on her own challenge to give back and say thank you.

Emily said: “All of Arya’s admissions have required cannulation to take blood for tests and give any medication and for a one-year-old that’s really scary, so I wanted to do something in solidarity and to show my appreciation for the teams who look after her.

“I chose swimming as a low impact activity for an injured knee and thought it would be easy but it was a lot harder than I thought. To complete the distance I had to swim for a total of 28 hours over the 30 days, and fitting that into my busy schedule was tough but I’m glad I did it and so grateful for all the support and donations I received.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’ve been truly humbled by little Arya’s bravery and how her care inspired Emily to challenge herself and fundraise for us.

“The fantastic funds Emily raised help us to continue supporting the 100,000 sick kids our hospital treats every single year.”