Deirdre O’ Neill joined the NIBTS in 2000 as the Session Planning Officer for the blood donation programme. Deirdre is responsible for planning the blood collection programme throughout Northern Ireland and this entails scheduling of almost one thousand blood donation sessions a year at over two hundred different locations; quite a task. However, little did she know that within a very short space of time she would learn even more about how important her work would be. In September 2005 Deirdre and her husband Shane were delighted when their son Joshua was born. As Deirdre said, “We thought Joshua was a perfectly healthy baby boy but unfortunately eighteen days later our world was shattered and we knew different.”

Joshua had developed feeding problems and was admitted to the Children’s Hospital in Belfast His little belly was swollen, he was refusing all food and looking very jaundiced. All this pointed to liver problems and after a scan the Consultant broke the bad news that something he had never seen before was happening to Joshua. The bile from Joshua’s liver was flowing out a hole in his common bile duct and filling his entire abdomen.

This baby needed emergency surgery but unfortunately when he was brought to theatre they realised the full extent of the damage which they could not repair. All they could do was drain the bile from his abdomen and work out a different plan of action. Joshua had what is called spontaneous perforation of his bile duct, a rare condition with only ninety-eight cases ever recorded. During his operation he received his first blood transfusion.

Over the coming weeks the situation did not improve and poor Joshua was brought to theatre for repeat operations and more life-saving blood transfusions. It was then decided that the best course of action was to transfer him to the specialist liver unit in Kings College Hospital London.

At Kings College Hospital Joshua again went to surgery for an operation called a Hepaticojejunostomy-en-roux which would construct a new way for his liver to drain. This nine hour operation took place in November 2005, and again required further blood transfusions. Five days later, and for the first time in long while Deirdre and Shane were able to lift and cuddle their young son without drains or monitors attached.

The surgeons were pleased with the operation but unfortunately damage had been done to Joshua’s portal vein which meant that blood trying to reach his liver was blocked a condition known as portal vein thrombosis.
Nonetheless the situation slowly improved and after a few weeks they were allowed to bring their son home, with a nurse attending their home twice a day to give him the necessary injections and to take care of the central line which had been put in whilst in London

Life became as normal as possible but with constant visits to hospitals for check ups, but in March 2007 things yet again took a turn for the worse. Joshua’s abdomen became extremely swollen causing him breathing difficulties which necessitated him being rushed to the Children’s Hospital. Joshua had developed a rare complication called Chylous Acities. This meant fluid known as Chyle was leaking into his abdomen (Chyle is produced by our bodies when we eat food). His illness was extremely serious and after five trips to theatre it was decided to transfer him by air ambulance to Kings College Hospital. Here through specialist treatment and several more visits to theatre his condition slowly improved.

Whilst he is now on a special diet for life, the good news is that Joshua in now almost four years old and visits the liver unit for regular check-ups. He is very much a happy normal wee boy who is looking forward to going to school this year and is absolutely car mad. Deirdre explained, “As Joshua gets older he asks more and more questions about why he has all these scars and what happened to him. We tell him about all those people who gave blood to keep him alive and how his Mummy works to try and help get the blood for other sick people like him.” Both Deirdre and Shane would like to say a big thanks to all the blood donors in Northern Ireland who give blood. Joshua is their living proof just how important it is to donate.