Terminally ill Bryneglwys teen inspires hospice donation

Dec 31 2008 By Andy Davies

THE mother of a terminally ill teenage girl has thanked Europe’s biggest trailer maker for donating £10,000 to the children’s hospice that cares for her daughter.

Jessica Law, 14, from Bryneglwys, in Denbighshire, has undergone 15 major operations and is now waiting for a kidney transplant.

She is a regular visitor to the cash strapped Ty Gobaith hospice, in the Conwy Valley.

Her mother, Vona, says the donation from Ifor Williams Trailers of Corwen will help provide a vital cash lifeline for the hospice which receives little or no state funding.

The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion they are giving a total of £50,000 to good causes.

They have decided that Ty Gobaith should be one of the recipients of the five donations of £10,000.

According to the Law family, the donation could not be going to a better place.

Ty Gobaith has provided "amazing" help and support, not just for Jessica but also for her mum, her 11-year-old twin sisters Rachel and Courtney and her dad, John, a former employee of Ifor Williams Trailers.

Jessica, a pupil of Brynhyfryd School, in Ruthin, describes Ty Gobaith as "one of my favourite places".

She was born with a rare congenital birth defect, Cloaca Anomaly. Her condition was so serious that doctors at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital did not expect her to survive but she was rushed to Alder Hey Hospital, in Liverpool, for emergency surgery.

Vona recalled: "Before she was taken to Alder Hey, our vicar came over to Christen Jessica as they did not expect her to last the night.

"She had major reconstructive surgery performed when she was 12 hours old and since then we have been backwards and forwards to hospital.

"She was born with dysmorphic kidneys, they look like blobs – they haven’t developed fully and they have scarring on them. 

"Three years ago, she was diagnosed with chronic end stage renal failure with her left kidney already having failed or deteriorated to be classed as a non-functioning kidney.

"Her right kidney has carried on with major intervention and medication but she takes in excess of 36 tablets a day.

Her dad John is undergoing tests to see whether he can donate his kidney for a transplant.

Vona added: "In the meantime, Jessica is going on the waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor as well so I would just like to emphasise how important it is for people to carry donor cards.

"We’ve found out in the last few weeks that Jessica has deteriorated even further and it may mean that they have to start dialysis, before she can have the transplant, because her blood levels are so unstable.

"So far, she’s had 15 major operations, everything from a three-hour operation to a 17-hour operation, one which was done in Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London.

Richard Bull, the Group Operations Manager at Ifor Williams Trailers, said: "We are pleased to make a donation to support this absolutely vital service and we can think of no better way of celebrating our 50th anniversary."