When six year old Faizah was just a few weeks old, doctors told her parents that there were problems with her liver.
“She was diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis, which is a doctors way of saying ‘we don’t know the true cause despite tests,” says her father, Asif. “We did hear about Children’s Liver Disease Foundation when we were in hospital in Leeds but to be honest we had so much to cope with that we didn’t really engage with the charity at the time.” Unfortunately Faziah’s condition did not improve and when she was just a year old she was given a life-saving liver transplant.
“Happily Faziah has made good progress since her transplant and now we feel we want to give something back,” continues Asif. “We decided to come to the CLDF family day in York as we were interested to meet other parents in a similar situation and see how we can help. We also wanted our children to meet other children with similar problems and to create solidarity around the issue” The York family day which had an Alice in Wonderland theme, provided plenty of opportunity for Asif and his wife Nazneento meet other parents while Faziah and her brother and sister thoroughly enjoyed the pantomime and the arts and craft activity.
“As parents it was great to speak to others about different points on that journey towards transplant,” said Asif. “It brought back many memories and we wanted to offer moral support to others. It was great that the day involved the whole family because it’s important that our other children understand the nature of Faizahs illness and how it affects her and others.
“For Faizah, meeting and making friends with other children in her siituation can improve confidence so we will definitely be interested in future events!”
