The remarkable recovery of a nine-year-old Polish girl born with a rare genetic disease and who had experimental brain surgery in Poland continues to wow medical professionals.
Hallie's Suffering
According to ITV Granada Reports, Hallie Campbell from Wigan was born with Aromatic L-amino Acid Decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. She could not eat, speak, or even sit up due to her terminal illness.
She had painful seizures every day due to her crippling disease, which continued for hours at a time.
Lucy, Hallie's mom, reflected on her daughter's health and vulnerability, saying she sometimes did not believe the girl's situation.
As per Lucy, Hallie depended on a feeding tube for 20 hours daily. The thought of raising the girl's head was too much for her mother.
"We'd have to sit her on our knee and prop her up and hold her head," said Lucy. "And the seizures, that was probably the worst one for us - hours and hours a day of her just being in excruciating pain. It was just awful."
Hope Within the Family
Hallie's family took a huge chance in 2019 by submitting her for experimental surgery being provided in Poland for those with AADC deficiency. The prognosis for persons with AADC deficiency is not favorable.
Since the brain operation, including gene therapy, was still in the testing phase, the National Health Service (NHS) could not provide it.
After asking for support via ITV Granada Reports, the family was able to earn the necessary £70,000 ($84,000) in just a few weeks so that they could go to Poland in November 2019 for the operation they believed would save their daughter's life.
Hallie's mom said she just felt that if there was anything that they could do, they ought to do it.
"There was just something in me that I just knew that, you know, I needed to do this. And I'm so glad that we did. I just felt like the universe had our back."
The Recovery Phase
ITV Granada Reports journalist Mel Barham, who first shot with the family in Poland, returned three years later to check in on Hallie.
Lucy told the media, "I can't even explain what it's like. It is just so lovely to see her just loving and enjoying life and interacting with everybody and playing like a child."
Hallie can now sit independently, feed herself, and play independently with dolls and toys. She is also learning how to walk, communicate, and use sign language.
Her favorite signal to give is the one that says she is hungry.
Hallie's parents acknowledge it was a significant choice to submit her for unlicensed therapy, but they have no regrets in light of the girl's improvement.
"It was just really hard, you know, to see Hallie in so much pain ... I think without gene therapy, this could have been a completely different story," the family said. "But the story now, I feel like it's just a lovely story of like hope, healing and happiness."
The family says they would never be able to repay those who supported them. They are very grateful.
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