Sophie suffers from the rare immune system disorder, cyclical neutropenia, which means that not only is she more prone to infections generally, but every two to three weeks she is at serious risk of catching an infection she will be unable to fight.
She has already suffered two bouts of pneumonia, four of septicaemia, numerous throat, ear and chest infections as well as a respiratory virus similar to Sars. She has been hospitalised more than 100 times, resuscitated at least 30 times and been given countless courses of antibiotics.
When Sophie was a baby, her mother assiduously followed doctors' instructions to keep her daughter in a totally sterile environment at home. Anyone who came to the house had to scrub their hands with disinfectant, and every eating utensil, toy and surface Sophie was likely to touch was likewise sterilised.
Sophie was unable to go to nursery school or play with other children. It is every parent's instinct to want to protect their child's life, but Nancy has now taken the difficult decision to remove her daughter from this cocooned world.
'Sophie had to have some quality of life,' says Nancy. 'I adore her and have fought for her almost her entire life. But I know that I have to swallow my fears and let her live a little - even if it makes her ill.'
more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=454910&in_page_id=1879
She has already suffered two bouts of pneumonia, four of septicaemia, numerous throat, ear and chest infections as well as a respiratory virus similar to Sars. She has been hospitalised more than 100 times, resuscitated at least 30 times and been given countless courses of antibiotics.
When Sophie was a baby, her mother assiduously followed doctors' instructions to keep her daughter in a totally sterile environment at home. Anyone who came to the house had to scrub their hands with disinfectant, and every eating utensil, toy and surface Sophie was likely to touch was likewise sterilised.
Sophie was unable to go to nursery school or play with other children. It is every parent's instinct to want to protect their child's life, but Nancy has now taken the difficult decision to remove her daughter from this cocooned world.
'Sophie had to have some quality of life,' says Nancy. 'I adore her and have fought for her almost her entire life. But I know that I have to swallow my fears and let her live a little - even if it makes her ill.'
more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=454910&in_page_id=1879
