Violets in Bloom – A Beautiful Baby Girl by Mum

Violet Lilian Mornington was born on 3rd June 2008 at Samuel Johnson Hospital in Lichfield to Kerry and Ivan. A happy, healthy, sometimes very silly and a tiny bit naughty little girl, she completely rocked her Mummy and Daddy’s world. ‘Life was never boring with Vi, she was into everything, always on the go and making us laugh’.
Violet had so many friends firstly through her Nursery, Animal Crackers and then when she started school in September 2012 at St Stephens in Fradley, where she lived. She loved school and she loved her friends.
In 2013, Violet was coming on in leaps and bounds with her reading and writing, she had learnt to swim at her swimming lessons and mum and dad were planning on taking the stabilisers off her bike ready for the Summer. Things were good and Violet’s most favourite things in the whole world were her books and her teddy bears.
It all changed
On her 5th Birthday (03 June 2013) this all changed when Violet came home from school feeling a little unwell. We thought maybe she was a bit over excited about her birthday’. When Violet didn’t seem to pick up after few days and after several trips to the doctors, Violet was taken to A&E where she was immediately transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where for several weeks she left Doctors baffled as to what was wrong.
Doctors ruled out Leukaemia and other weird and wonderful viruses, but they were completely stumped. They could not figure out why Violet’s bloods were so ‘bonkers’, as they put it.
They couldn’t understand why she was having raging temperatures up to six times each day, why her spleen had doubled in size and why she was too tired to even get out of bed to have a little play in the playroom.
Diagnosis
Finally, after three weeks in hospital, they diagnosed Epstein Barr Virus associated Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and set about her first lot of treatment. However, it soon transpired that there was something more sinister going on with poor Violet and they suspected a rare blood disorder called HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis), a potentially fatal disease of the blood if not diagnosed and treated in time.
Despite starting chemotherapy treatment, the disease had gotten hold of Violet and on Saturday 20th July she started to have severe respiratory problems. After 24 hours of fighting so hard to stay with us, little Violet sadly lost her fight and she passed away on 21st July 2013. She died peacefully in the arms of her Mommy and Daddy.
Violet will be remembered and loved by everyone who knew her for her sense of humour, her beautiful smile, her strong personality, for her individuality and for the amazing courage and bravery she showed during her illness.

Isobel the Griscelli Supergirl by Mum

Clippers Diagnosis
Isobel was 9 when a routine optician test showed there was an issue at the back of her right eye. Where the synapses meet at the back of the eye instead of a smooth oval there was a raised bump. Regular eye check-ups over 18 months showed no change in growth, there were no headaches or problems with vision and as she was not in pain, it was agreed that she would be discharged at the next appointment. However, 4 weeks before that appointment Isobel started to complain of having double vision. 2 weeks before the appointment her right eye turned in. At the appointment, she was booked in for a 20-minute MRI.

10 days later, we received an evening phone call that no parent wants to have. There was a problem with the MRI, which showed inflammation spots scattered throughout Isobel’s brain, particularly behind the right eye and at the top of her spine. The doctors were unsure what it was, and we needed to come in the next day for more tests to be done on a children’s ward. Isobel, now 11, had a barrage of tests, including a 50-minute contrast MRI and a lumbar puncture. Within 3 days, thanks to a sharp-eyed radiographer, we had a diagnosis of Clippers, an auto-immune illness of the brain and one of only 60 known cases in the world. Isobel has tried various medicines over the last 2 years and the inflammation responds well to steroids, which she is still on; without them her balance and vision are severely affected.

Griscelli and HLH Diagnosis
Our wonderful Clippers specialist has been working closely with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) on Isobel’s case and over the last 2 years there has been genetic research to show that Clippers is not an illness in itself but a symptom of an underlying cause. Isobel, now age 14, went to GOSH to meet the team, have bloods taken and a lock of her hair to test for various genes. Recently we received the dreaded news that Isobel has tested positive for a very rare hereditary genetic condition called Griscelli, under the umbrella of HLH, a life-threatening auto-immune illness of the blood. there are 60 known cases of Griscelli in the world. The only hope of a cure is chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

Over summer 2019 Isobel has had numerous tests, appointments and treatment discussions. She has been further diagnosed with ‘isolated neurological HLH’ one of 11 known cases in Europe as her HLH symptoms are so rare. Doctors say they have never seen anyone “so well” with this illness despite inflammation spots presenting in her brain and spine. Further treatment has been hotly debated between GOSH and Birmingham Children’s Hospital and they finally agree that she will continue to be closely monitored and the search for a donor match will go on. It is expected her symptoms won’t always respond so well to steroids and doctors want to be ready to move quickly if and when necessary. For now, we feel that we have had a reprieve and can plan some future events with family and friends without worrying we will get ‘the call’ for a Bone Marrow Transplant. Further donor events are in the pipeline for Isobel and for so many others in more dire need of a BMT.

Isobel isn’t the only one who has had tests! Kev and I had the results of our genetic tests. Everyone has 2 working Griscelli genes (RAB27A) which carry melatonin around the body. Amazingly Kev and I have only 1 functioning gene each and have passed on the non-working gene to poor Isobel. The chances of us both being affected were millions to one, the chance of passing it on were 1in 4. Myles is now having testing and genetic counselling to see if he is a carrier and to see if he could be a possible donor for Isobel.

GRISCELLI
People have commented on Isobel’s unusual colouring- white blonde hair and olive- toned skin since she was a baby- just like her elder brother. When the GOSH team wanted to test her for Griscelli (a genetic abnormality in gene RAB27) we were convinced she couldn’t have it, as Griscelli children are described as having very pale, translucent skin and Griscelli is under the albino umbrella. We were stunned when she tested positive. Griscelli is considered life threatening but Isobel is currently classed as atypical as the illness hasn’t attacked her body as it seems to in others.

Layla’s Rainbow

I know all parents think their child is special, but Layla really was. Always ahead of her time. She was walking at just nine months, out of nappies by her second birthday and at 2 years old, you could pretty much have a full conversation with her. She had something about her.  Wise beyond her years almost like she’d been here before. She had a very loving, caring nature and always shown empathy towards others even at such a young age. She was popular at school and loved her friends. She’d put her arm around them and talk to them like she was the grown up and they were the child. She had an old soul for a little girl and often people would say she was like a ‘little old woman’. 

Layla also loved to sing and dance. She was a great little entertainer, always doing shows for us and she was funny with it too without even trying to be. She oozed confidence and charisma and would definitely stand out in a crowd. You’d always remember our Layla. With her wild ginger curls, infectious smile and her big personality, she stole the hearts of all who knew her. What we didn’t realise was, she was only borrowed to us for 6 short years and was needed in a better life. She was needed in Heaven. 

On November 24th, 2017, I had a call from school to pick Layla up as she wasn’t feeling very well. When I arrived, she was lying down with temperature. I thought a bit of Calpol and cuddles from Mummy would do the trick and had no doubt she’d be back at school after the weekend.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. By the Sunday evening, she’d become so lethargic and spiked a temperature of 40.9. We also noticed she had come out with an unusual looking rash. We made our way to A&E. After her first blood test, her CRP levels (which detect inflammation in the body) were 300 plus. Which suggested an infection and a very nasty one at that. We thought at that stage we were dealing with Sepsis or Meningitis.

She was transferred to Bolton Royal where she was treated for over a week with antibiotics, but Layla wasn’t showing any signs of improving. They’d ruled out Sepsis and Meningitis after a series of tests and Layla’s illness was becoming more and more of a Mystery. The Doctors at Bolton told us there was nothing more they could do for Layla and the specialist’s teams at Manchester Royal Infirmary wanted Layla there. I could see in the doctors and nurses faces that even they were starting to worry and the fact they called us an emergency ambulance to MRI made me think we were dealing with something life-threatening.

The team at Manchester were brilliant and reassured us that she was now in the best care and they would make her better. But Layla’s health continued to deteriorate, and she was placed in a high dependency unit while doctors continued to run more tests as they still didn’t have a confirmed diagnosis. 
On Saturday 9th December, Layla took a turn for the worst and was rushed into intensive care and put into an induced coma. The docs warned us then, she may not survive but against the odds, she stayed strong and continued to fight. Whilst in a coma, the docs took a sample of Layla’s bone marrow and shortly after that they were able to diagnose Layla with an extremely rare blood disease called HLH which is short for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Of course, we’d never heard of it but as we started to research, it didn’t make sense. How could this happen to our Layla? She was singing and dancing at a Little Mix concert only two days before. She was never sick!! she was everything a normal happy healthy little girl should be! 

We were told to expect a long road to recovery for Layla. At least an eight-week hospital stay and months of chemotherapy. We prepared ourselves for this and was prepared to do whatever it took to make our girl better. We just wanted her to wake up. 

On the 15th Dec, her 6th Birthday, she opened her eyes. We put up balloons by her bed and her brother and sister and grandparents all came to see her. It was a happy moment but also very sad that she was spending her birthday in the hospital and so poorly. Not quite the birthday we had promised her. However, the docs were really pleased with Layla’s progress and moved her into an oncology ward which would become our home until Layla was well enough to come home. 

Unfortunately, the very next day, Layla’s health deteriorated quickly and drastically, and she ended up back in Intensive Care and put back in an induced Coma. Layla was bleeding internally, and they sadly couldn’t stop the bleed. The machine by this point was the only thing keeping her alive. It was the worst two days of our life. On the Sunday night, while we were sleeping, the hospital called us to tell us that Layla was unstable and basically prepared us for the worst. We called our parents who arrived shortly afterward and we all stood round Layla while they fought through the night to save her. It was not meant to be, she was too poorly. It was time to say goodbye. 

Our beautiful daughter passed away at 5.05am on the 18th December and our lives changed forever. 

There’s a chance Layla may have survived had they diagnosed her sooner. Therefore, I am very passionate about raising money for this charity to help fund the research needed to uncover the causes of HLH, diagnose early and hopefully finding a cure. We hope that no other parent has to go through what we’ve been through. 

Thank you in advance, Michelle, Paul & family and of course Layla xxxxx