Emotional Christmas reunion for Sheffield family, as beloved daughter, 12, home from hospital

Doctors say Nevaeh Hassan can go home, after weeks in hospital which have seen her put in isolation after a bone marrow transplant.

She was allowed home from Sheffield Children’s Hospital on December 23, and will spend Christmas in Stradbroke, Sheffield, with mum and dad Roxanne and Ryan, brothers Ibriam and Kiean, and grandparents Ibriam and Karen Hassan, and Michelle Hackett.

Dad Ryan said: “We are all absolutely delighted to be able to be together again at Christmas.”

He has meanwhile launched a crowdfunding appeal to thank the Sheffield Children’s Hospital for the care their medical teams gave his daughter, as a Christmas present to those still receiving the hospital’s help, while she herself faces a new year battle with her own illness

You can log onto https://www.gofundme.com/f/gkuqd-a-plastic-anemia to donate to the appeal.

Dad Ryan said: “Our beautiful daughter Nevaeh is 12 years old, She loves music and dancing but mostly she loves spending time with family, and especially her best friends, doing what 12-year-olds should be doing.

“But unfortunately for Nevaeh, that suddenly changed in June. Nevaeh suddenly became ill while on holiday where we ended up taking her to Skegness emergency department where she was then sent to Boston hospital for blood tests.

“That’s were they told us - what would be every parent’s worst nightmare - all her blood levels are dangerously low and that she was being transferred by emergency blue lights to Nottingham QMC (Queen’s Medical Centre) with suspected leukemia.

“As you can imagine our world shattered. After two days in QMC we were transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which is our home town and now our second home, for further tests including a bone marrow biopsy.”

On June 2, the family was told it was not leukemia. Instead, she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia, a life threatening condition affecting her bone marrow. It is effective bone marrow failure, said her dad.

It meant she could not produce the right amount of blood cells for her body. It resulted in rashes, bruising, and tiredness and left her more susceptible to catching infections which could be life threatening as she had no immune system to fight it.

Nevaeh’s illness and the short-term treatment she is receiving means she has missed out on many things a normal 12-year-old would usually do.

Every week she has had to undergo blood and platelet transfusions, which leave her with scars. The transfusions can only be short-term treatment as it is damaging in the long term.

Her best hope for a cure was a bone marrow transplant. Sadly, her brothers were not a suitable match - but the transplant team at Sheffield Children’s Hospital found her a matched donor.

Ryan said: “Nevaeh now has a long painful road ahead. She has had to undergo surgery for a central line to be fitted for treatment, She has had to have multiple invasive tests and then she will receive chemotherapy just like a cancer patient in order to wipe out all remaining bone marrow.

“This will mean months in isolation in hospital on a children’s oncology ward, were she won't be able to have any visitors as she will have no immune system and be more susceptible to infection whilst receiving treatment Nevaeh will also lose all of her hair due to the chemotherapy she will receive.”

With Nevaeh having to spend months in hospital, her mum will have to take a considerable amount of time away from home and her brothers in order to be there for her whilst she is in hospital.

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Ryan added: “We are greatly appreciative of anyone who is willing to be tested and register to help others like Nevaeh with this devastating condition.

“We are fundraising for the patients, parents and amazing team on ward six at Sheffield children’s hospital (SCH) to give that extra bit of help to help get through the tough time they are going through like we have been through without the ward six staff, parents and patients I don’t know no how we would have got through this nightmare we are living.

“And many more parents are still going through now. We want to help patients and parents by providing things that are needed for the ward and parents that need help with cost of providing what is needed for the long stay ahead. This is to help provide with travel costs, food, books, essentials.”