Family climbs high for kids’ charity

5/25/2005 -

A mother from Newry is so passionate about raising awareness of children's liver disease that she's climbing a mountain next month to raise funds for a unique charity.

Colette Babe, from Belleeks, is planning to claim Mount Errigal, the highest peak in the Derryveagh Mountains on Sunday 19 June to raise money for the Children's Liver Disease Foundation, the only charity dedicated to fighting liver disease in children and young people.

The Foundation is of vital importance to Colette and her family because her youngest daughter Katherine was diagnosed last year with a rare liver disease called biliary atresia.

Colette, who is a nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, explains: "Katherine was born on 22 January 2004 and although she was slightly jaundiced at birth, this went away and she was fine. But after just a few weeks I felt something was wrong as she became slightly jaundiced again and had very pale stools. Tests revealed that she had biliary atresia, which means that the bile ducts from the liver become blocked, potentially leading to irreversible liver damage.

"My husband Michael and I were absolutely devastated to hear the diagnosis. The thought never even entered our heads that children could get liver disease and our daughter had it. All that first weekend we were in a daze, but we had to put brave faces on for our elder daughter Hannah (now 5) and James (now 3)."

Soon after diagnosis, Katherine had surgery to allow the liver to function normally, and was in hospital for eight weeks. At this time, Colette was eager for information about her daughter's disease and was told about the Children's Liver Disease Foundation, which fights liver disease through funding research and educating healthcare professionals in the signs and symptoms to look for. It also supports the thousands of families affected all over the UK.

Catherine Arkley, chief executive of the Foundation, said: "Not many people realise that two children a day are diagnosed with a liver disease. That's higher than the incidence of childhood leukaemia. There are around 100 different diseases that can affect babies, children and young people, and although great strides have been made in certain areas such as transplantation, there is still much we have to learn about causes and treatments to ensure these children reach their full potential."

Colette, Michael, family and friends are climbing Mount Errigal to raise as much money as possible for CLDF, but also to raise awareness that children get liver disease.

Colette concludes: "It's really comforting to have someone on the end of the phone that you can talk to if you're worried about something. The staff help to put your mind at ease and make you realise you're not alone.

"I feel so passionate about the Foundation that I want to help all I can, not just by raising money with this event, but also by making people aware just how many families are affected by childhood liver disease. If more people know about it, perhaps they might also consider supporting the Foundation in some way in the future."

If anyone would like to sponsor the Babe family's assault on Mount Errigan, they should contact Sarah Briggs at CLDF on 0121 212 3839. For further information on the Children's Liver Disease Foundation, please call 0121 212 3839 or visit www.childliverdisease.org.