A gift from Tiffany – family donates iPad to children’s A&E | News

A one-year-old girl who has overcome a rare and life-threatening form of liver disease had a happy reason to be back in the children’s A&E department at St Helier recently – as she and her parents donated a brand new iPad to the unit.

Tiffany Lothian, who turned one on 9 April, was a regular patient in the hospital’s dedicated children’s A&E department as a result of biliary atresia – a condition that damages bile ducts and causes liver scarring. It’s a disease that only affects babies, and left untreated, could be fatal.

During one emergency visit to A&E, Tiffany’s mum Dee got talking to Senior Sister Inky Stenning, who happened to mention that an iPad owned by the department and used to distract young patients as they underwent procedures had been stolen. Dee and her husband Wayne instantly set to work to raise funds to buy the department a replacement.

Dee said: “Tiffany used to have to come to A&E a lot, and we saw first-hand how hard all of the staff work. They are all absolutely amazing.

“Our family have had some very difficult and heavy moments in this department, and without the support of the staff and the work that they do, we wouldn’t be here today. Not only did the doctors and nurses get Tiffany through it, they got me through it, too. We cannot thank them enough.

“To know that – on top of the work they do to care for patients – the nurses had taken the time to secure funding for this iPad and it had been stolen was just terrible. We knew that we wanted to get them a new one straight away.”

Since those distressing visits to A&E, Tiffany has undergone a liver transplant thanks to an incredible living donation from her cousin. And, although she will need ongoing medical checks to make sure her new liver is functioning properly, she is free from biliary atresia and doing very well.

Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles, who met Dee, Wayne, Tiffany and her big sister Courtney as they hand-delivered the new iPad, said: “This is an absolutely amazing donation from a family who have overcome some incredibly difficult and challenging times. I would like to thank the Lothians, and everyone who donated to their cause, for such a thoughtful donation.

“It was an honour to meet Tiffany who, just five months after her transplant, seems to be a really happy and healthy little girl. The family were full of praise for the staff at St Helier, and it made me truly proud to be Chief Executive of such a wonderful organisation.”

Pictured above: Tiffany in the few days before her transplant

Senior Sister Inky Stenning said: “We are absolutely delighted with our new iPad, and would like to pass on our heartfelt thanks to the family. Tiffany is a brave and resilient girl, and we were all so delighted to see her again, and see that that she’s doing really well after her transplant. Hopefully, we won’t see her again as a patient but she’ll be thought of regularly in this department, thanks to our lovely new iPad and case!”

The family even had the iPad engraved so that people will know this iPad is a gift in Tiffany’s name, and insured for two years (“in case a pair of little hands drops it and it gets damaged,” explained Dee).