A six-year-old Galway girl has an extra special reason to celebrate Father's Day.
Sadhbh Browne from Mountbellew underwent a life-saving liver transplant operation in St King's Hospital in London two years ago.
Her dad, Paddy was the donor and now the Browne family is keen to raise awareness of organ donation at every opportunity.
A six-year-old Galway girl has an extra special reason to celebrate Father's Day, after she underwent a life-saving liver transplant operation two years ago - thanks to her dad, a living donor | https://t.co/wOKVmPtFyq pic.twitter.com/v5ZFZIaUMm
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 20, 2021
Sadhbh is thriving after a challenging couple of years - and happy to share a few of her favourite things. "I like jumping on the trampoline, going on the slide, going on the climbing wall, those sort of things!"
When she was eight weeks old she was diagnosed with Biliary atresia, a liver disorder, and was operated on in Our Lady's Hospital.
She was doing very well until her third birthday when she developed an infection and went into liver failure.
Sadhbh was on a transplant waiting list for a year before her dad was deemed a suitable donor after rigorous testing
"It was just absolute joy. It wasn't an issue of fear of the operation or potential complications because so many people live for years and years on transplant lists and don't make it in the end.
"There is a mortality rate on transplant lists by virtue of the fact that there aren’t enough organs available for people in dire need of them," Paddy said.
Paddy counts his blessings and says Sadhbh is a healthy, happy six-year-old.
"She's the picture of health, skips into school every morning, skips out again and enjoys all the normal activities of a child her age.
"To see her hopping out of bed in the morning full of joy, full of life. What more does a person need? The satisfaction we get as her parents is beyond words. She is just the joy of our lives."
His own health is very good too. After six months he was able to go back to work as a nurse in University Hospital Galway and able to resume all his normal activities
Now he says it's all about giving back.
"There's an onus on us and a responsibility to highlight organ donor awareness. Thankfully we're the right side of the process now and we’re the lucky ones.
"There are a lot of people waiting and I would appeal to people to carry the card so if, God forbid, if something untoward happens there's no doubting what your wishes were then.
"Both medical professionals and your own family would be 100% sure of your intentions even if you never had that conversation.
"Also if living donation is a possibility it's not as scary as it sounds. It's an extremely robust process and very well managed so if people are suitable then hopefully they might consider it.
"It’s Father’s Day today and thankfully you can see how Sadhbh is so well and so healthy. What more of a gift does anybody need"
He paid tribute to the medical teams who looked after Sadhbh.
"We did everything we could to make things easy and as normal as possible for Sadhbh. She had wonderful teams looking after her both in paediatrics in Galway, in Crumlin Children’s Hospital and King's Hospital in London."
Across from the beach in Salthill, the Circle of Life garden commemorates the generosity of all organ donors and provides quiet space for reflection.
As Deirdre Browne looked at the life-affirming quotes on the stone sculptures, she recalled the long day of surgery her daughter and husband underwent in London two years ago.
"The specialist team said to me: 'Our whole day is taken up with your family. You are our only concern,' and I thought how lucky we are to get such incredible care for our family."
The surgeon who operated on Sadhbh told Deirdre: "Your husband has saved your daughter’s life. He has given her a beautiful piece of liver and it's up to her body how she will cope with that."
Sadhbh initially developed complications and was rushed to intensive care for emergency surgery
"It was a horrendous time but after more surgeries and a lot of prayers, and hope and support from everybody else, we got through it and she came home and has thrived ever since and we're very grateful for that."
During her time at St King's Hospital, staff arranged a VIP tour of Buckingham Palace for the little girl. "I woke up and the nurses gave me a colouring book and there were presents and cards and then I found myself at the Palace!
Sadhbh didn't meet Queen Elizabeth that day: "She was gone to Scotland on the train but I had tea and cakes."
At any given time there are up to 600 people in Ireland on organ waiting lists for organ transplants.
The Irish Kidney Association says the goodwill of the public is crucial and reminds people to always carry their donor cards, have it displayed on their driving licence or download the digital app on their smart phones.
