Lily Amber makes her family proud as she starts school

Mum of four Vicky O’Callaghan, is delighted that her little girl Lily Amber Wilson has enjoyed her first weeks at Colby Primary School in Alby, Norfolk.

At just ten days old, Lily Amber suddenly stopped breathing and was rushed to specialise paediatric hospital Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge. There, she was diagnosed with life-threatening pneumonia and bronchiolitis which is an inflammation of the smallest passages in the lungs. She required ventilation on 100% oxygen and thankfully pulled through.

With her being so small and her condition having been so serious, Lily Amber has been carefully monitored and doctors and pleased that she has made a full recovery and is hitting her milestones.

Mum Vicky says: “It’s incredible that Lily has made so much progress after being critically ill so early on in her life. She’s just started at Colby Primary school where she is learning to read and write and is making lots of new friends. Our whole family is incredibly proud of her and we’re delighted to have such a happy and healthy little girl who’s just full of life!”

While Lily was being cared for in intensive care, nearly two and a half hours from home, mum Vicky and dad Craig Wilson were able to stay close to her bedside in The Sick Children’s Trust’s Acorn House. The charity’s ‘Home from Home’ not only supported Vicky, but helped Lily Amber’s older sister Jordanna and her two brothers Louis and George stay together as a family.

Vicky adds: “Being close by was essential as it meant we were all there to support Lily and were on-hand 24 hours a day if needed. It was so reassuring knowing I was just a phone call or a few minutes’ walk from her bedside.

“We as a family are grateful for all the support and care offered by Addenbrooke’s and The Sick Children's Trust and are so proud of how much Lily’s achieved.”

The Sick Children’s Trust’s Acorn House provides free, high-quality ‘Home from Home’ accommodation, as well as emotional and practical support for families with seriously ill children being treated at the hospital.