Beth recovers after operation
A Shropshire family is spearheading a fundraising campaign for the Birmingham Children's Hospital to say thankyou for helping their daughter.
Beth Smith, 18, from Bishop's Castle, had to have rods placed inside her head earlier this year after she was born with her skull fused together and unable to expand as she grew. Her parents, Peter and Claire had to expand the rods each day to help her skull to grow.
But after initial success the rods cause so many problems she had to return to hospital to have them removed and has just been back for surgery again to have the stitches taken out.
Member of Beth's family are so grateful for the skills of surgeons at Birmingham Children’s Hospital they have launched a fundraising campaign to say thank you and the local community is also joining in.
The Boars Head pub in Bishops Castle will hold a quiz night on July 13 to help raise funds, currently just over £2,000.
A local businessman, Mark Leavesley, a pilot on Bear Gryll's Running Wild series, has also offered a tandem paragliding flight that is being raffled with tickets available from Jamie Ward's butcher shops and Poppy's in Bishops Castle. The draw will be make on August 7.
Beth was born with bicoronal crainiosynostosis, only the 61st person in the UK to suffer with the condition.
Staff at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital noticed something was wrong when she was just a couple of days old.
Her skull is fused at the front so, as her brain grew and her skull did not, the pressure would build up.
A few weeks ago Beth underwent a five-hour operation at the specialist hospital in Birmingham, which left her with rods inside her skull on a temporary basis.
“Every day we had to expand the rods by two millimetres to help her skull to grow,” Mr Smith said.
"Unfortunately she had a serious infection on her head and was very poorly. She had to go back into hospital to have all the metalwork taken out of her head then return to remove her stitches. She was very poorly but she is on the mend again."
Mr Smith said his daughter had been incredible and within two days of the initial operation was standing up in her cot as if nothing had happened. He said: “The doctors were amazed.”
He has launched a Just Giving page justgiving.com/fundraising/Peter-Smith105 for the children's hospital and also has a collection box where he works as manager of the Jamie Ward butchers in the Churchstoke shopping centre.
“We give dog bones away free of charge but customers will put a donation into the box,” he said.
