A Scots teen is preparing for a life-changing lung transplant.
Danielle Wards, 14, from Drumchapel in Glasgow was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension - which is when there is high pressure inside the arteries - at just three-years-old and has been travelling between Glasgow Queen Elizabeth and the Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, for treatment ever since, reports Glasgow Live.
But her dad James, 38, says the treatment 'isn't making a difference', and says she now needs a lung transplant that will hopefully change her life for the better.
Celtic supporter Danielle was born prematurely but around the time she started nursery she started be sleeping constantly. Her concerned parents James and Suzanne sought medical advice and after multiple trips to her GP, she was referred to the cardiology department who confirmed she had pulmonary hypertension.
The condition makes it difficult for Danielle to walk long distances without losing breath quickly and feeling tired or dizzy, and it also affects her appetite and she struggles to eat.
James said: "When she was diagnosed, it was quite a weird feeling because we knew there was something wrong. They took us into a side room and told us.
"You feel like you’re in a trance and the doctors are talking to someone else. You’ve got all these questions in your head that you want to ask but they just won’t come out. It was very nerve wracking and scary.
"As parents we feel helpless and we don’t always get it right."
The teen had surgery last January to have a line fitted in her heart, and she is also on a variety of different of drugs. Next up, Danielle at the end of April has an appointment for a compatibility test to start the process of finding a new lung.
Her dad has started a GoFundMe page to help fulfil some of his daughter's wishes while they wait.
He said: "It was actually very difficult to gauge with her especially during her primary school years because she had selective mutism. She wouldn’t speak during school and to us an hour or two after school.
"She bottled everything up. She started to speak for the first time at the end of Primary six.
"Over the past few years she has started to open up. She tries not to let it bother her and she likes to think how she could live her life in this moment which is a great way of doing it.
"There’s no time frame on the transplant and it is one of the biggest gifts she’ll receive. Unfortunately, someone else needs to lose their life for her to receive it and it’s overwhelming thinking back at it.
"It’s hard to put into words what it (lung transplant) would mean to us. We’ve got to overcome the fear that comes with going through such a big operation and all the risks that come with it.
"If it’s going to make her life better and she could socialise with her friends it would be great to see her be a young girl and enjoy her life."
You can support the fundraising appeal here.
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