A DONCASTER family is back together for the first time in five months after their baby was allowed to bid farewell to her bubble.
Michelle Benyon, aged 28, and her husband Rick, 34, have been forced to live apart while their daughter Lana was kept in a sterile bubble in Newcastle General Hospital.
The tot had been undergoing treatment for a rare genetic disorder called Omenn's Syndrome which left her unable to fight infection.
While Michelle was staying in the North East to be at Lana's side, Rick was looking after the couple's other two children - Courtney, nine, and Michael, four - at the family home in Scawthorpe.
But today the whole family is finally reunited in Doncaster after doctors gave Lana the all-clear to come home for the first time since July.
Lana is now six months old but has spent all but four weeks of her life so far in hospital.
Delighted mum Michelle told The Star today: "It feels a bit surreal to all be back together after all this time but it's great.
"Lana is enjoying having her brothers and sisters around her, and they think it's great.
"She's doing really well, but we're still limited in that she can't go to public places, and we're only allowed a limited number of people around her to keep her away from infections.
"They told us at the hospital that the longest a baby has spent in the bubble was two years. Lana was in 70 days after her transplant.
"She's sleeping with us in our room now - I don't like to let her out of my sight."
The family had hoped Lana may be able to visit Doncaster at Christmas but she was not ready, and they spent the festive period in a half-way house in Newcastle instead.
They will still have to visit doctors in Sheffield or Newcastle each week for check-ups and an injection to boost Lana's immune system.
Family friend Dawn Warner, who works with Michelle at the St Frances Street Health Centre in Doncaster town centre, said: "We can't believe she's back already. From being diagnosed and things looking so bleak, she is now back in Doncaster and doing so well.
"From the family point of view they have been separated for six months, so they have a lot of catching up to do. Everyone's delighted for them. It has all happened so much sooner than expected."
To treat her illness Lana underwent a transplant of cells using tissue from an umbilical cord taken from a baby in the Czech Republic, and lived for months in a sterile bubble in the hospital.
When they visit Lana, her parents had to scrub up and wear surgeons' gowns, and only close family were allowed into the bubble. Others had to look at Lana through a window.
Well-wishers raised thousands of pounds to help pay for Michelle and Rick's travel costs between Doncaster and Newcastle, for accommodation for them in Newcastle, and for the Bubble Foundation UK.
A raffle raised £2,500, which is to be donated to the unit where Lana she was treated. Another £2,500 was raised through events and other donations.
The website set up to raise the money - www.just giving.com/lanasfund - will remain open to help raise further cash.
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