Be Happy, be like Lucy

I came home tonight and was 'accused' of being happy!!

I think the real accusation was "what are you so happy about" and I have to confess I felt happy. So why was I happy?

Well I put it down to a culmination of things. First of all I'd been down South since Monday and as I drove home today it was a beautiful sunny day and the kind of day when you realise that despite the snow, we're heading towards lighter nights and hopefully warmer days.

I was also happy as when I arrived home it was ten to five and despite having a load of work to catch up on, I was 'happy' that I was going to treat myself by 'ignoring' it until tomorrow.

I was also 'happy' because a couple of things we're planning for the Hampden Kiltwalk look like coming off and it's always good when that happens.

So today's Blipfoto Journal is all about "happiness" and if you look at today's picture of 13 year old Lucy Duffy I think you'll agree this photograph, taken on holiday last year, exudes 'happiness'.

However as with most Blipfoto pictures, there's a story attached and that story unravelled last Sunday when I walked six of the fifteen SoupWalk Sunday miles with her mum, Monica.

Monica used to be indecisive, but now she's not sure, there Monica I told you I'd use that line. Monica contacted us last Saturday, desperate to find out all about our Sunday training walk and once I'd convinced her she could walk 15 miles and would have people to walk with, she decided to come along. Then she decided she couldn't, so it was a pleasant surprise when she roared into the car park on Sunday morning, ten minutes late.

I had been walking with Monica for a few miles when she mentioned that last year her daughters, Emma, Lucy and herself had raised over £3,000 which went to the Yorkhill foundation and it was our partnership with Yorkhill that had made her sign up for The Kiltwalk.

I then asked her what her motivation was and that's when she told me all about Lucy.

When Lucy was around 5 weeks old she went onto bottles and Monica realised she was only taking a few ounces each feed. This continued, so being a concerned Mum she went to her doctor who to Monica's horror, sent them straight to Yorkhill.

After arrival at Yorkhill where Lucy was examined by several doctors, they explained Lucy's heart was enlarged due to a condition called Anomalous right pulmonary artery. They explained the condition was serious, but operable, however before they could operate they would need to feed Lucy through a tube to build up her weight.

It was while putting the feeding tube in that Lucy suffered her first of two heart attacks. They managed to stabilise Lucy however soon after she suffered a second, more serious heart attack where she was unconscious for over twenty minutes, which is a long time to have no oxygen to the brain. With options running out they finally managed to get an artery into her groin and brought her back and the decision was made to operate straight away.

What followed was an extensive period in intensive care before they were finally able to take Lucy home on Hogmany

From this early age, to the age of 11, Lucy has been a constant visitor to Yorkhill where she has been in the care of the exceptional medical staff who also cared for her when it was discovered, after several fits around four years ago, that Lucy has Epilepsy.

With this care and Lucy's courage and fighting spirit she is, as you can see in the picture, a healthy girl who swims, has recently passed her first judo grading and runs cross country which 11 years ago Monica would never have imagined possible.

So when one of Monica's friends mentioned she was taking part in The Kiltwalk, which supported Yorkhill, it was as they say a "no brainer" as it's Monica's way of giving something back for all the years of care and support they gave Lucy.

One final tale I thought I would share with you is Monica's explanation to Lucy of her 'big scar'.

Lucy like all inquisitive young girls noticed that no one else had this 'big scar' and wondered if she wasn't 'normal'

Monica explained she was very much normal, however where everyone's heart goes 'tick, tock' her heart only went 'tock' when she was born, so the Doctors opened up her heart and popped in her 'tick' which I thought was a great way of making a little girl feel really special.

Good luck Monica on the big day and I hope to bump into you at some point.
Meanwhile, "keep that smile on your face and stay happy"