Walking Angels
How beautiful the birth of a newborn is, it makes me wonder how God wraps all there is inside a throbbing heart. It’s fascinating & relaxing to see how newborn babies cry, respond to movements & then fall asleep. I feel the sleeping part says it all before growth begins to set in. I too was once a baby — a cool baby at that — my mum was always so happy to have me around her. I was special & she always called me her miracle. She waited for years before she finally had me but this isn’t my focus. All I want to do is thank her for not getting rid of me when she found out I wasn’t a regular child. I wasn’t a regular but was enough miracles for the wonders she sought.
The same way, Ella Chadwick, a 12-year-old girl from Rochdale was to her parent & the entire people of Britain. She was diagnosed with a rare disease called congenital nephrotic syndrome — a condition that affected the storage of proteins in her kidney, eight weeks after she was given birth to. She spent the best part of her early life on dialysis & multiple surgeries. For the most part, she underwent 6 years of dialysis, 40 surgical operations, kidney transplant of both kidneys & multiple strokes.
Despite all these, Ella’s dream of putting a smile on people’s faces stood tall. In Mrs Karen Hughes’ (her mum) voice, “in hospital, Ella would get so worried when she saw kids crying. She’d go over & start singing to them, draw them a picture or get them a toy to make them happy — despite being connected to a drip or having to bum-shuffle around”. It was a beautiful thing having her around either on her walker or wheelchair.
The big dream kicked off for Ella after her second transplant while suffering from diabetes & limited mobility. The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital nominated her as a starter for the Mini-Great Manchester Run in 2015 with the idea of encouraging & raising funds for people with disabilities. But Ella having found her light within the nomination insisted that she would love to be a part of the 1.5-kilometre fundraising race. She was about 9 years old when she took the first race & from then on, she committed herself to a 10 kilometres race challenge for the following, so as to mark her 10th year birthday. It was with this challenge that she was able to raise 5,000 euros for sick children.
According to Ella in an interview with ManchesterNews, “my legs started aching, I had to run lots & lots but I didn’t want to give up as I wanted to help save lives of children & make sure they get better soon”. In fact, Ella during one of the summers produced 250 get-well-soon cards for children in the hospital wards. Inside it, she wrote “Hope I made you smile. Love, Ella”. For Ella, a lover of Don’t Stop Believing track by Musical Glee & Disney’s princess characters’ lover, nothing counted more than helping to save the lives of other sick children as she addressed the audience when she was presented with the 2018 Pride of Britain Award presented to her by X Factor’s judges — Dermot O’Leary, Simon Cowell, Louis Tomlinson, Robbie Williams & Ayda Field.
Ella didn’t stop there; she continued spreading happiness on the faces of sick children across Britain & parts of the western world. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, she was accompanied by another little champ after the news went around that she & Noah Wall delivered Christmas gifts to Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was such a lively interview & both Ella & Noah received gifts on the show.
For Noah, life began with him being brainless from birth because he was diagnosed with spina bifida & hydrocephalus — a condition where his skull fills up with fluid & in turn expanded as he grew in his mother’s womb. It was recorded that all he had was 2% of his brain functioning as the odds of him surviving was so slim. Dr Gregory Scott, a neurosurgeon researcher at Imperial College, London further explained that the only reason why Noah is able to eat, breathe & drink is that his brain stem was still intact.
Exactly when Noah clocked 3, his parents took him for another brain scan & surprisingly, it was discovered that Noah’s brain had grown to 80% -the size of a normal human brain. Though homeschooled & doted by his parents & elder sister, Noah has since become an inspiration to many children across England & the study of neuroplasticity. He has so far been giving hope to people through his jokes, singing, painting & conversational engagements with young & old despite his being paralyzed waist down. A documentary titled the Miracle Child was also done in his honour.
Indeed, our angles are still alive walking among us, they are breathing love & showing us the possibility in everything around us. They are themselves not perfect, they have got pains like you & I & are committed to spreading happiness wherever they find themselves. I for one know I am committed to changing the narrative just like Ella, Noah & many persons out there doing their very best to float above the many challenges around them. We are walking with our wings of hope — I hope you don't mind coming on board?
Let’s walk like angels across the world & spread our wonders everywhere.
