Inspirational Stories

Ella's Memory Lives On

Ella Mackie was a bright and beautiful six-year old who loved her pets, enjoyed watching Harry Potter and spending time with her friends and family. Her parents, Jane and Trevor, remember her lively sense of humour and the way she enjoyed life to the full before she died of a brain tumour in February 2003. Jane talks about her daughter's illness.

'I was worried about her because she was tired and when she played soccer she wasn't keeping up with the other kids,' says Jane.

Blood tests came back negative and an appointment was made to see a neurologist in ten days time. But Ella's condition deteriorated suddenly so she was admitted to Starship Hospital only days later. Her parents were told the devastating news that their youngest daughter had an inoperable brain tumour.

'Life just went to hell then. They couldn't operate on Ella's tumour because it was in the brain stem and it affects all your vitals, things like breathing and your heart. So there is absolutely no way they could operate. They told us there was no chemotherapy that could get to the tumour and at that stage her brain was too swollen to have radiotherapy - and radiotherapy makes it swell anyway so it would make her worse. So there was no option of any treatments. Basically, we were taking her home to die.'

One of the hospital nurses recommended that they get in touch with the hospice. Disenchanted with hospital palliative care, Jane is pleased she had the support of the hospice when Ella was terminally ill.

'I'm a pharmacist and the hospital didn't like that we were questioning things. And I didn't like that they tried to bring the hospital into our home. All the way through I felt the hospital wanted to hasten things. The hospice was the opposite. I feel they supported us in making Ella comfortable during this time. The hospice doctor was marvellous. Ella was on 1200 milligrams of morphine by this stage, which is a huge level. The hospice doctor told us that neurological pain had to be managed differently, we had to do this and that instead and use a combination of different drugs. He was an expert. As soon as we implemented the changes he'd suggested we dropped the morphine down. After that she was much more comfortable and she didn't need so many top-ups. His help was just amazing.'

'The hospice would call in every day with supplies. Apart from bringing us supplies and changing lines, they were really good to talk to and they had a brilliant sense of humour. They were just amazing. They would phone and say, "I'm just driving past, is there anything that you need?" They were very good at thinking ahead. Have you washed her hair? We've got caps. Stuff that we didn't know existed they brought in.'

'Ella just got better and better once we got her home. And the first night we were home she sat up at the table in her wheelchair and ate some potatoes and gravy. She hadn't been eating before then. She just blossomed.'

Ella responded so well to being at home with her friends and family that she had radiotherapy, which improved her condition even further.

'She had the last term at school. We parked the wheelchair outside the classroom and she'd walk in holding the wall or one of the kids. She'd walk in and sit on the mat. At Christmas all the kids did a big card for her. Elliott, her best friend, wrote a really neat thing in her card "Ella is getting really good at getting herself up off the mat now." He used to help haul her up.'

'The kids were incredible. Ella's teacher said she had never taught a class of kids like this. These children have such an incredible bond. Ella is still talked about in the classroom and is still part of the class. And the community here was incredible. We had food enough for Africa. We had to borrow the neighbour's freezer. There is a garden at the back that the community made for Ella. There must have been fifty or sixty people here one weekend building it for her.'

Sadly, Ella's condition began to decline over Christmas. The family went camping but were forced to return home as Ella was so ill. Ella went back to Starship Hospital where the doctors told them the tumour had grown. Under their care Ella wasn't expected to live more than a few days.

'We brought her home and she lasted for another six or seven weeks,' says Jane. 'And in that time, although she wasn't really good, she lost her first two teeth. This was really special to her. Previously she used to come home from school wanting to know why everyone else had lost teeth, but she hadn't. I think she swallowed the first one, but we got the second one and her uncle gave her a fortune for it. Then she wanted to go The Warehouse to spend the money! People would come in and she would show them the gap, even though she was so weak.'

'Ella had this amazing will to enjoy every minute that she could.'

Ella died peacefully at home at 5 o'clock in the morning, with her parents beside her and her beloved pets in attendance; her siblings, Jack and Jess, Aunty Kim and her grandparents also in the house.

While the family is mourning the loss of a much-loved daughter, Jane is working actively towards creating an animal's room at Starship Hospital. A tribute to her daughter, Jane is keen that other children who are animal lovers aren't deprived of their pets when they are in hospital.

'Ella really missed her pets when she was in Starship. We are hoping to have a room where kids can bring their pets. If we can get that done that would be really great. Ella would be so wrapped. She'd be so proud.'

Karen McMillan