19/11/2025
‘You have all been incredible and helped improve Eva’s quality of life so much!
My little sister Eva was born with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which led to brain damage and a diagnosis of Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. She can’t walk or talk and is mostly fed through her gastrostomy - despite this she is the happiest and smiliest 14-year-old you could ever meet!
Due to this neuromuscular condition, she has developed scoliosis. The curve became so prominent in recent years that it was affecting Eva’s quality of life. She wasn’t comfortable in her wheelchair and often in pain.
Thanks to the incredible spinal team at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, she underwent 8 hours of corrective spinal fusion surgery. Afterwards she was transferred to Seahorse Ward/PICU, where she stayed for 2 days whilst she received lifesaving blood transfusions to replace all the blood she had lost. Eva’s nurse on PICU, Molly, looked after her so well - it gave us such peace of mind knowing that she was in such great hands. We even named Eva’s knitted seahorse she was given ‘Molly’ as we will forever remember her exceptional care.
After two days, Eva was moved upstairs to Daisy ward (HDU), where she stayed for a week. The nurses here became so much like our family in such a short period of time. Courtney, Katie, Issy, Niamh, Ruth, Ella, Emilia and Lauren were just some of the lovely nurses we were lucky enough to have caring for Eva. They were so supportive towards me as her sister as well as my parents. They all went above and beyond for my whole family and couldn’t do enough for us! They made us feel comfortable enough to leave Eva’s side for a few hours to grab food or have a shower up at Ronald McDonald, something we often find hard to do with Eva’s complex needs.
After a night on Bluebell ward, Eva was discharged. It was such a relief knowing she was coming home, but we miss all the incredible staff at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, who provided us with the highest standard of care and kindness. A highlight was a visit on Daisy ward from a musician, who sang Eva’s favourite songs from Moana! It brought her so many smiles and giggles.
Eva is now back at school full time and she’s got her famous belly laugh back! She is sitting so much straighter and more comfortably in her wheelchair. We are already planning on her next adventure and helping her live life to the fullest! A massive thank you has to go to her surgeon Mr Morris and the spinal nurse Katie who helped us every step of the way, as well as everyone behind the scenes at BRHC.’
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Amy for sharing this story with us – what a wonderful older sister you are! We wish Eva a healthy journey going forward! 🥰
