Dionne Cartmill told Stephen Watson on The Nolan Show, that while the kidney condition was known, the family only found out Etta needed a liver transplant a year ago.
After an 11-hour surgery last September, Etta needed to be ventilated and her abdomen covered with a mesh as it couldn’t be fully closed due to swelling, but she now has a healthy liver.
“From when Etta got the liver transplant, she’s absolutely thriving. Her wee personality and everything’s coming through,” she said.
“Beforehand, the child was miserable. She’d awful pains in her stomach, she’d cried constantly. There was nothing you could do to settle her.
“When I’d put her down to dialysis, I’d have to get into the cot with her and hold her and then she’d be pulling me in and pushing me away, she was that agitated that she didn’t even know what she wanted.”