High praise for staff's combined effort

Celine Ceraudo. Photo / Dean Purcell

Thanks to your generosity, Help our Kids, the Herald campaign to raise funds for our national children’s hospital, Starship, has reached its $150,000 target. But we need you to keep helping.

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At 13, Celine Ceraudo started suffering disturbing symptoms which eventually put her in Starship.

"I was experiencing gastro symptoms, constant headaches, fevers, recurrent abdominal pain, had a low platelet count and nosebleeds that would gush and last for hours at times. Bruises kept appearing all over my body and I often felt faint."

In 2008 she had numerous tests and was referred to Starship specialists. They diagnosed a blood clot in the hepatic portal vein, which carries blood to the liver from the spleen, intestines and stomach. This increased blood pressure in the vein, causing a doubling in the size of her spleen, and expansion and twisting of veins in the oesophagus.

In 2009 Celine had two different kinds of operations to reduce the pressure by creating a bypass around the clot, using a piece of jugular vein taken from her neck. The first treatment failed within hours when a clot formed in the bypass, necessitating the second operation, which has been successful long-term.

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"Both surgeries were performed at Auckland Hospital under the care of the liver transplant team with the specialists from Starship. I was transferred to PICU [the paediatric intensive care unit at Starship] and then to ward 24 at Starship hospital."

Celine, a 19-year-old Aucklander and student of arts and design, said her body slowly recovered after the surgery. Her spleen returned to normal and a check on her oesophagus two years ago found the veins were "a lot better".

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"My body is a bit more sensitive due to the large surgeries. They do monitor me quite a bit; other than that I was quite lucky. I do also have to be very careful and be aware my body can't take as much as everybody else's now and still no contact sport, just to be safe from the impact."

She said the cause of the clotting problem was never found. "Nobody is definitely sure - maybe it could have been a gastro bug I caught as a baby.

"The entire time I spent in hospital I was surrounded and cared for by the most amazing people who worked with such dedication and provided such great care to myself and other patients," she said.

"I was very fortunate and I'm very grateful for all that they did."

She urged people to donate generously to the Help Our Kids campaign for new equipment for Starship's operating theatres.

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