Advertiser and 1 imes A The Clitheroe T h u rsd ay , N o v e m b e r 2 4 th , 2005 No. 6 ,2 2 7 r p ^ w wW i .c l i th e ro e to d a y .c o .u k P r ic e 5 8 p n ew s a n d v iew s from t h e C e n t r e of th e K in g d o in o Q O PAGES 22-25 by Natalie Cox
A CLITHEROE couple whose baby son under went heart surgery want to say thank you to the angels who cared for
him. When he was just three-
months-old little Simon Whittaker, pictured, diagnosed with two holes in his heart. The news came as a
bombshell to his parents, Rebecca and John Whit taker, of George Street, Clitheroe. Bom in Burnley General
Hospital on Mothers’ Day, Simon spent the first week of his life in intensive care,
■ but was allowed home to the Kibble Valley after a
week. Just three months later,
the baby who rarely cried started to whimper, he went off his feeds and gen erally did not seem his usual self. Worried that her son had caught a chest infection, Rebecca took him to the doctor who eventually referred Simon for a chest X-ray. The results were every parents’ nightmare - he was diag nosed with a large ventric ular septial disorder and an arterial septial disorder. To help Simon’s prob
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lems in handling a lot of fluid hospital staff in Blackburn decided he would benefit from being fed through a gastro-nasal tube which his parents had to learn to use and clean, before undertaking an exhausting three-hourly feeding routine. As well as coping with
their son’s condition, John, who works for British Aero- space, and his fiancee, Rebecca, were married in July. Simon was a very spe cial guest at the wedding. Since his condition was diagnosed, the family have
benefited from 24-hour access to the hospital in Blackburn meaning they can speak to health profes sionals with their worries at any time of the day or night. They have also received visits from a com munity nurse who calls at their home to check on Simon’s progress. After his first planned
operation was cancelled due to a bed shortage, Simon was eventually called to Alder Hey Hospital in Liv erpool to have his five-hour operation on August 31st. It was a day his worried mum
described as “one of the longest days of my life”. Said Rebecca: “I t was
like being on a rollercoaster waiting to see if he had sur vived and whether the operation had been a suc
cess.” She continued: “I had
never left Simon before so I was more bothered that he would be away from me more than anything else. To pass the time of the operation on I took all my washing and ironing to MacDonald House, the place parents stay while their children are being treated, so I spent ages doing the laundry. Although it was upsetting to take Simon to the anaes thetic room, I was just reiieved to know that he was going to have his oper
ation.” After successful surgery
and just five days later Simon was allowed home. Since then he has been
treated for suspected meningitis and bronchioli tis, but continues to progress well and no longer needs his feeding tube. From the time of his
diagnosis Simon had to be kept away from other babies to prevent him pick ing up any other illnesses and viruses, but now he regularly attends a toddler group in Whalley and
another in Burnley. To say thank you to the medical teams who looked after Simon during his stay in Alder Hey, John and Rebecca are hoping to raise money for MacDonald House at the Liverpool hos
pital. Anyone who would like
to make a donation can ring the couple on 01200
PAGE 9
Advertfser and Times & Salvation Arniy
saving Simon
429938. Said Rebecca: “We feel like we want to give something back to the hos pital and the staff, they were absolutely fantastic and could not do enough for us. They were superb.” Looking to the future,
Rebecca said she hoped Simon would not need any further
operations although he still has a small
hole in his heart. He will continue to have regular check ups and medics will track his progress. “It has been very trau
matic seeing my first born in so much pain. We have lived through a night mare,” added Rebecca. “Now we have to move
on. Simon is doing so well.”(s)
Stripping off for Children In Need!
CUSTOMERS at a Clitheroe butchers got more rump than they bargained for
on Friday! The temperatures outside may have
been dropping fast, but inside Harrison and Kerr, King Street, they were certainly rising rapidly. The butchers bared almost
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all raising nearly £300 for Children in Need. While the female members of staff were not quite as daring, they sported pyjamas under their pinnies. • For the full story and a round-up of
some of the crazy activities for Children in Need, see page 43. (CR181105/1)
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