It was a red-letter day at Ipswich Hospital on Friday with staff joining Roonagh Faith O’Halloran’s family, friends and the people of Hadleigh to celebrate the little girl’s first birthday.
Roo has a malignant tumour on her liver and to mark the occasion and raise money for her family, our doctors and nurses have been ‘Wearing Red for Roo’, with everyone paying £1 to participate.
Schools and businesses in Hadleigh have also shown their support for the tot, who was born prematurely at 27 weeks at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, weighing just 1lb 7oz, while her story has reached as far as Australia thanks to Facebook.
After spending many months in Cambridge, Roo was transferred to Ipswich Hospital and treated for a chronic lung disease and a congenital heart defect, undergoing surgery last December, before being well enough to return home for Christmas.
She is now receiving chemotherapy at Addenbrookes and was able to return home to celebrate her birthday with her family.
Roo may need a liver transplant and her parents, Mike O’Halloran and Emma Jay, are waiting to take her to a hospital in Birmingham for an assessment to have the tumour removed.
Emma said:
Roo has spent a lot of time being cared for at Ipswich Hospital and the staff have been amazing, the nurses especially, are more like friends to us.
We didn’t expect any of this (fundraising) and seeing everybody wearing red today is so overwhelming.
Donate to help Roo’s family on the JustGiving website
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