Ellie M

Age 5

Demelza Community

"My daddy"

Ellie is a five year old little girl, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 18 months old. Due to two severe reactions to chemotherapy drugs Ellie had a secondary brain haemorrhage, which resulted in loss of all gross motor skills, communication and cognitive skills. During her time in hospital she contracted an aspergillus infection in her gut, causing it to disintegrate. This means that Ellie now has short gut syndrome. She was referred to the Demelza Community Palliative Care team for end-of-life care in July 2007.

Due to her parents' tenacity and research carried out by her dad Simon, Ellie was put onto a new type of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), which was not licensed for use on children in the United Kingdom. This has stopped any further damage to Ellie's liver and prolonged her life.

Ellie has now regained a number of skills, and has defied all odds. Her parents, Julie and Simon, describe her as a "miracle child".

Ellie's hero is her dad. He is the one person that makes her giggle and brightens up her day whatever mood she is in. She grabs him by his ears and showers him with kisses. In Ellie's world he is her superman. We helped Ellie paint Simon's face blue, and took a face print of him, and then helped Ellie fill in his eyes, mouth and ears. She was very surprised to see her dad with a blue face, and was making quizzical cooing noises.  

Please note this case study (images and copy) must not be used or replicated in any other form without prior consent from Children's Hospices UK.

This artwork is on canvas and measures 610mm wide, by 460mm high, by 20mm deep.