Rossendale baby faces surgery after defying odds to reach first birthday (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Rossendale baby faces surgery after defying odds to reach first birthday
1:30pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News
Rossendale baby faces surgery after defying odds to reach first birthday
THE parents of a baby given only a three per cent chance of reaching her first birthday face an anxious wait after a vital operation was delayed.
Mia Brierley was diagnosed with Edward’s Syndrome, a terminal genetic condition that affects internal organs, when she was five-days-old.
A year on, a huge celebration saw 130 family and friends gather at Sunnybank Social Club, Helmshore, last month to celebrate her birthday.
But now mum and dad Tracy and Tim Brierley are hoping their brave little girl will cope with her next big day.
Mia was due to undergo her operation in Manchester last week.
The procedure, which will see specialists perform laser treatment on Mia’s epiglottis, the flap of cartilage in the throat behind the tongue, is now due to take place this week.
Tracy, a social care nurse, said: “At the moment her heart is enlarged and is pressuring her left lung.
“As well as that, her epiglottis sits on her larynx, causing it to close when she is sleeping and cause breathing problems.
“Hopefully the laser treatment will cause the epiglottis to curl up naturally and open the airways. The doctors did some exploratory camera surgery last week and decided it would be better to wait for extra support before going ahead with the main surgery.
“Mia is doing really well at the moment.
“When she’s shouting and singing you wouldn’t think there’s anything wrong with her!”
At her birthday party last month, the family Brierley said they were ‘overwhelmed’ at the response from the community.
One donation came from a cancer patient at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, where Tracy’s sister-in-law, Ruth Brierley, works, who pledged £100 after hearing about the Haslingden girl’s condition. Tim, a market trader from Edinburgh Road, said: “The whole day (of the fundraiser) was a bit of a blur to me. It’s so overwhelming. To have strangers donating money is just amazing.”
The total of £5,146 will be split between Derian House Children’s Hospice, Chorley, and therapy nursery Stepping Stones in Haslingden.
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