THE NICHOLL family are looking forward to a happy Christmas together after father Billy returned home this week to continue his recovery from a heart operation and fundraising for little Ellie passed the £20,000 mark.

 

It has been a challenging year for the family from Cradien with eight-year-old Ellie living with a rare progressive neurological condition known as H-ABC Syndrome, which requires 24 hour treatment.

 

If that wasn’t enough her father Billy suffered a heart-attack last month, requiring a triple-bypass operation in Belfast. All the while the family have been organising fundraising events since August to aid research into Ellie’s condition and ultimately find a cure.

 

There was some welcome good news on Monday for the family when Billy was able to return home from hospital to continue his recovery at home. It has been a big boost after he took ill last month and went under the knife on Thursday, November 12.

 

“He got back to Enniskillen (South West Acute Hospital) on  Wednesday evening and I brought him home today (Monday). I’m delighted to have him home. Now if I could just get Ellie to follow through and get her home it would be fantastic,” said Ellie’s mum Ciara.

 

Ellie has been in hospital for the past month and has been having problems tolerating her food, but  Ciara explained that her daughter is now in better form and hopes to have the whole family together at Christmas.

 

“She’s a lot brighter than what she was, there were a couple of weeks there when she was just sleeping all the time and wasn’t in great form at all, but hopefully we’re now on the upward. I would hope to have Ellie home within the next couple of weeks at the latest. It will make it a special Christmas.”

 

Although the exact amount has not yet been confirmed the fundraising for Ellie has now passed the £20,000 mark in just three months. 

 

“It’s just phenomenal, it’s actually fantastic to see how far we’ve come in three months. It’s getting to be a bit of a slog at the moment, but were stating to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Ciara added.