At the beginning of 1994, when Anna was over 9 months old, it became obvious that she was going to need a liver transplant before the age of 2. We asked for a referral to Birmingham Children's Hospital, despite living in North West London with Kings College Hospital in South London providing that service.

The decision was made partly because it can be quicker to get to Birmingham Childrens' Hospital which was then based near Five Ways, but mainly because of the reputation of then Doctor, now Professor Deidre Kelly who then headed and continues to head the paediatric liver unit.

When Anna was 20 months old, things were becoming difficult. She was spiking temperatures on a regular and ever more frequent basis, which meant she would have been taken off the transplant list during those spikes.

Just before her second birthday, the situation had almost become untenable. Despite very best efforts, she was spiking a temperature more often than not, and the decision was made to put her on the acute transplant list. Within two weeks after her second birthday, Anna had her liver transplant; and just like the Kasia procedure surgery nearly 2 years earlier at Gt Ormond Street, the transplant was very successful- Anna was out of hospital within 10 days, a record for that time, which possibly still may stand for a child of that age.

In those days, although survival rates were very high for young child liver transplants, we were warned that this is when the work really starts in terms of constantly battling to maintain their health.

But this was not the case for Anna. By her third birthday, she was down to one anti-rejection drug, whereas most children would still be on a cacophony of medication, and they would remain so for many years to come.

As it was, Anna had a virtually trouble-free childhood as far as any medical issues were concerned, no doubt because of the outstanding care she received from Professor Deidre Kelly and her team.