A brave boy who doctors believed wouldn’t survive after being born has seen his birthday and Christmas dreams come true.
Tíernan Dundas spent four magical days meeting Santa, dancing with the elves and going for husky sleigh rides at Lapland.
The holiday was extra special because Tíernan, aged six, has spent most of his life in and out of hospital.
The trip of a lifetime was given to him as a surprise on his sixth birthday in May, after many years of exhausting treatment.
Tíernan was born with a collapsed left lung, he had three chest drains inserted and was put on an oscillator when the ventilator was no longer strong enough to keep him alive.
Doctors then diagnosed Tíernan with end stage renal failure and prune belly syndrome – a rare birth defect which affects a baby’s abdominal muscles, urinary system and testicles in a baby boy.
Tíernan’s older brother Odhrán, now 10, was born at just 25 weeks, so doctors decided to insert a cervical stitch during mum Finola’s pregnancy with Tíernan.
She was then diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormality. The family were told the baby wouldn’t survive once it was born.
Doctors said Finola, who lives in Northern Ireland, could travel to England for an abortion or have the stitch removed to end the pregnancy naturally, but she decided to carry on with pregnancy.
Finola says: “Tíernan was born in the afternoon and doctors worked on him all night. Seeing him on the oscillator was not a nice experience.
“At one point we were told to call our families to say goodbye, it was heartbreaking. But he survived each night when they didn’t think he would pull through.
“But he defied the odds and was finally allowed home after five months, but doctors told us to prepare for a long road ahead.”
For four years Tíernan had dialysis to stabilise his condition, with some sessions lasting a gruelling 12-hours, to prepare him for a transplant.
He suffered up to 10 bouts of renal morning sickness a day, but finally he was strong enough to have a transplant when his dad Ciaran was a match.
Ciaran, 37, adds: “Before the transplant Tíernan couldn’t even straighten his legs and was unable to stand or walk so it’s a lovely gift to be able to give him to help him lead a more normal life and stop him being so sick all the time.”
The family jetted off to Lapland with 43 other families with sick children thanks to Make-A-Wish UK, a charity that helps make dreams come true for seriously ill children.
It was also the first time Tíernan and Odhrán flew on a plane.
Finola, 38, says: “They had the most amazing time, it was so magical, it was indescribable to see their faces. Both boys were so excited.
“Odhrán sees so much of Tíernan’s illness on a daily basis. Some nights we put them to sleep but Odhrán has woken up to find his nanny there because we have had to rush Tíernan to hospital during the night again.
“A lot of his treatment and medication is invasive and it isn’t pleasant for Tiernan, he dreads it.
“This is why the charity is so wonderful. It gives families like us these magical moments and they support us as a family, not all charities support the siblings.”
Although Tíernan is doing much better, he is fed through an NG feeding tube and has 14 different doses of medication a day.
He is now mobile, but becomes tired extremely quickly. Doctors have told the family that he will need another transplant when he is older.
Finola added: “Although he is doing much better now, Tíernan is still in and out of hospital a lot, and he is prone to infections, because he is immunosuppressed so if there is a sickness bug going round school we have to take him out.”
“When he was on dialysis we couldn’t even go away for the night and then Covid came and we couldn’t risk it.”
Tíernan is in mainstream school but receives full-time support from his classroom assistant who has been trained by Finola.
Finola adds: “The trip lived up to our expectations. Tíernan was singing in front of everyone on the plane and then all the children were singing on the coach. Seeing all the children’s faces was so beautiful.
“One of the elves really took a shine to Tíernan, she kept following him round, then she asked him for the final dance before we left.
“The highlight for Tíernan was the husky ride, because it was fast and thrilling and of course meeting Santa who gave them their favourite presents. Tíernan got a Mario figure, which he is obsessed with and the fifth book in a series he is reading.
“Afterwards Tíernan told me, ‘Santa must be watching me carefully to know what book I am reading’. There were lots of activities and along the way we collected stamps and then watched the elves graduate.”
Jason Suckley, chief executive at Make-A-Wish UK, said: “The power of a wish brings light and joy to children and their loved ones. These children face challenges that you and I can only imagine.
“A wish has the power to revive a childhood, bringing light and joy to these children and their families when they need it most, creating magical memories that last a lifetime.”
