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2004 March 14 - First Milestone for Double Transplant Boy

NEWS RELEASE

11 March 2004

FIRST MILESTONE FOR DOUBLE TRANSPLANT BOY

The Chaervey family from Saxmundham have much to celebrate on Thursday 18 March as the date marks the first anniversary of their son Harry’s life-saving double liver transplant.

Harry, who is two years old in September, was born with biliary atresia, a rare condition in which the bile ducts in the liver become progressively blocked, leading to irreversible damage. On 14 March at just 6 months old Harry underwent a liver transplant, but the transplant was unsuccessful and just four days later Harry needed a second.

Harry’s mother Christine Chaervey explained: "When we found out that Harry had a rare, lethal liver disease and would need a transplant, we were absolutely terrified; we couldn’t believe it could happen to him. When we discovered that Harry needed a second transplant we were absolutely devastated. Luckily we only had to wait four days for a donor to be found. Harry then spent over a month in intensive care which was a real strain on the whole family."

Christine said that since the family found out that Harry had a liver disease they have received tremendous support from the Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), a unique national charity that fights liver disease in children and young people. Christine continued: " We first met Sue, the Foundation’s family support officer, when Harry was first admitted to hospital. We were provided with extremely informative literature about Harry’s condition and there was constant support available if we needed somebody to talk to."

One year on and Harry is doing well. He as regular check ups at the hospital, but Christine says he is always smiling and happy and that her proudest moment was seeing Harry waking up after being in intensive care. .

Catherine Arkley, chief executive of CLDF, said: "It is great that Harry is doing well a year after his transplant and I am pleased that the family feel that they have received good support from the Foundation. At least two children are diagnosed every day with a liver disease and these are just the children that we know about. When these children are diagnosed a family’s world can be turned upside down and parents often find the need to talk can be all consuming. CLDF’s empathetic approach really makes the difference between hope and despair. It is only through the dedication of our supporters that we are able to fund our essential research and emotional support programmes."

If you would like to support CLDF or would like more information about their work please call 0121 212 3839 or e-mail info@childliverdisease.org