Ellie's story

When Ellie was born a few weeks before Christmas 2010, she was whisked away to an incubator before her parents could hold her. A blockage in her bowel was causing a swollen stomach, bile in Ellie’s mouth and breathing trouble due to pressure on her lungs.

Ellie was carefully transferred by ambulance to an operating theatre at The Children’s Hospital before she was a day old where Consultant Julian Roberts separated her inflamed bowel into two pieces and removed the blockage, leaving the ends – stomas – on the outside.

Ellie was back in theatre when she was eight weeks old where Consultant Govind Murthi joined the two parts of her bowel together. Until then, Ellie had been drip fed but could now be introduced to milk.

Towards Christmas, Ellie was improving and was moved from the neonatal unit to Ward S1. Ellie’s big brother Noah, aged two and dressed as an elf, joined his family on the ward to meet Santa, who visited on Christmas day.

On Boxing Day, Ellie developed an infection and had to take another course of antibiotics, but early into the New Year, parents Chris and Anna were finally able to take her home.

“Ellie owes her life to the highly specialist skills of her two surgeons, Julian Roberts and Govind Murthi, who have completely turned Ellie's life around. We are so lucky to have the Children's Hospital and the expertise within it so close to home,” says Anna.

“Christmas on the ward was as nice as it could be, but thanks to the work of the fantastic staff at the hospital we can look forward to a family Christmas in our own house this year. Ellie is now doing everything she should be doing and eating everything too!”

Julian Roberts said: “Thankfully few babies require surgery, but it does lead to challenges for the staff in theatres who have to deal with a huge range of different patients from 0.5kg premature babies to strapping 6ft 16-year-olds!”

Chris and Anna raised over £3,000 to thank the hospital for Ellie's care when they took on the Three Peaks Challenge – climbing the three highest points in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours. You can Walk with Us too.