Emma on the road to recovery
Wednesday March 10 2010
THE parents of four-year-old Stamullen girl Emma Howard Byrne are still at her bedside in the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, where she is recovering from a lung operation carried out last week. The treatment for her breathing difficulties is said to have been very severe on the little girl, however doctors at the London hospital are reportedly happy with her progress to date.
According to her grandmother Kay Howard from Stedalt, Stamullen, Emma got out of bed for the first time on Monday, much to the delight of her parents Sinéad and Pat.
'Emma is recovering well, but was very unwell during the week,' says Kay. 'The procedure left her in a lot of pain, and she is such a fragile little child, but on Monday she got out of bed, bringing her drain along with her, and told her mum 'Mammy, my legs are wobbly'.
Emma had no health problems until she got pneumonia when she was a year old, and has been attending first the Lourdes Hospital, and then Crumlin Children's Hospital for over three years.
'Sinéad and Pat live across the road from our house, and it got to the stage where I would open the curtains at 3am, and check to see if they had taken her to hospital, it got that bad,' recalls Kay.
'I decided to take matters into my own hands last November and contact Professor Andrew Bush in the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, and he said 'this girl needs urgent diagnosis.'
Crumlin Hospital agreed and referred the little girl to the English treatment centre, and the prognosis is looking good for the fouryear-old.
'It was a difficult time for her parents, as they were told four out of 100 children don't survive this procedure, however, she is a little fighter, and the hospital have managed to get a virus she had under control. We are hopeful she can travel home soon,' says Kay.
The whole family want to thank the Stamullen and Naul communities, after a benefit night held recently, organised by Pat's sister Ann Byrne, opened their eyes to the generosity of the local people.
'Progress is slow but hopefully when she returns to Stamullen in a few weeks time she will be a much healthier child, and the Byrne and Howard families would also like to thank everybody for their prayers and good wishes,' adds Kay.
- Alison COMYN
