C/O 10 Whysall Road
Long Eaton
Nottingham
NG10 3QZ
United Kingdom

NB: this is a forwarding address for the Pal, we do NOT disclose home addresses

Email Pal

Hanna B's Parents/Guardians

Fiona

Hanna B's Siblings

Lotty (under 2)

Hanna B's Interests

Reading, dancing, gymnastics, Brownies, watching Sarah Jayne, playing on the DS Lite and loves Hello Kitty.

Hanna B's Favourite Colour

Blue and purple

Is Hanna B able to read?

Yes

Is Hanna B able to use hands?

Yes

Is Hanna B visually/hearing impaired?

No

Does Hanna B suffer from any developmental delay?

No

Story written 2009

Hanna was born with a condition called VACTERL. All the letters stand for something that is associated with the diagnosis.

We were not aware that Hanna had the condition before she was born so it was a big shock to us.

The midwife gave Hanna her first bottle but she choked and turned blue so the resuscitation team were called. Immediate investigation found that Hannas’ oesophagus coming from her stomach was joined to her trachea and her oesophagus from her throat was a blind end. This is called tracheal oesophagus fistula and oesophageal atresia -TOF/OE - the T and E (American spelling).

At sixteen hours old she had to have a life saving operation to join the oesophagus back up which was thankfully successful (although reflux is severe).

Subsequent investigations found Hanna had a flat trachea, a TOF cough (often compared to a seal or dog barking), extra ribs (V - vertebrae), anal stenosis (A - anal), Ventricular Septal defect (VSD) (C - cardiac), unilateral renal agenesis (only one kidney) (R-renal), malformation of the right thumb (L- limb).

Hanna had surgery at 3 years old to improve the function of her thumb.

Hanna has many hospital visits each month as with all the different organs involved she is looked after by a large team of consultants.

Hanna also suffers from asthma and has many chest infections and lots of missed schooling, and misses her friends a lot.

Update 7th March 2010

Hanna has had a tough month. Eating has been a struggle and her ‘TOF cough’ has reared its ugly head and has really got her down. She has spent lots of time off school and has been really missing her friends.

We had an appointment with her surgeon as we are concerned that her eating problems may be due to a stricture in her oesophagus. Her surgeon requested an urgent referral for a Barium swallow which will help him decide whether she needs surgery for a dilation or whether her eating difficulties are caused by something else. This is scheduled for 23^rd March so I will post an update when possible. For the moment it’s just a waiting game.

Hanna enjoyed her gymnastics competition and her floor routine went really well. Her vault wasn’t so good but overall she came 14^th, which was very good as she has missed a lot of training sessions due to asthma and chest infections over the winter.

Hanna is looking forward to taking part in the Sports Relief Mile and it is something to focus on to keep her mind off her forth coming tests and possible surgery.

A BIG thank you for all the cards and gifts Hanna has received. They have really cheered her up when she has been fed up and in discomfort and she especially liked the Hello Kitty toy that came all the way from Japan - the official home of Hello Kitty!! Once again, thanks so much to everybody that has sent post to Hanna, it is very much appreciated and has helped her through a tough few weeks. People’s kindness has astounded us.

Update 3rd February 2010

January has been a better month for Hanna. She has been full of cold but with increased medication we have managed to keep chest infections at bay (so far anyway!).

Hanna has had some investigations on her heart-echocardiogram and a 24 hour recording of her heart activity as her heart consultant believes she may be suffering from an arrhythmia.

As Hanna is new to Post Pals she has only just had her postal address put on her page, so we had no post in January, but thanks to Amber, Jessica, Charlee and Coire for the emails she received. They really cheered her up.

Hanna has a gymnastic competition next week but with an on going ankle injury she is not too hopeful that she will do well, so any good luck messages would be welcome to encourage her to stay positive!!

Update 13th January 2010

Hanna has had a difficult December. She caught a virus which left her in bed for a week with very high temperatures and no appetite. This then turned into a chest infection so antibiotic therapy was given. After another 2 weeks she was feeling a little better. This meant she missed lots of schooling and she was especially upset missing the last week of term when all the fun activities, such as the class party, making decorations etc, took
place.

Fortunately she was well enough to enjoy Christmas and got lots of nice presents. Five days later was her birthday so cue more presents -we now need an extension for all the toys!!

She was very excited to receive the smarties from Post Pals, so thanks for that!