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Baby diagnosed with terminal cancer marks 18th birthday

by Jennifer Williams
9/ 7/2008

WHEN Davenport student Kirsty Scott marks her 18th birthday this month, she will have more to celebrate than most.

For back in 1992 her family didn’t expect her to see her third birthday, never mind this enormous milestone.

At just two years old, Kirsty was struck down with a stomach tumour the size of a watermelon, a cancer which then went on to ravage the rest of her body. It tore through her liver, diaphragm and bowel, moving her organs out of line and distorting her frail frame.

In a frantic hospital chapel ceremony 15 years ago, she was read her last rites, with doctors at Pendlebury children’s hospital in Manchester despondent about her chances of survival. Initially given a zero chance of recovery, experts then upped it to 15 percent, as Kirsty’s desperate parents Kerry and Neil prayed for a miracle.

And incredibly, a miracle is what they got. After six months of chemotherapy their little fighter returned from death’s door - and is now about to mark a birthday they never dared hope for.

Mum Kerry, 39, said: "She was very, very poorly. They told us that there was no way she would pull through it because it had spread absolutely everywhere. When she did, the oncologist said it was definitely a miracle for her to be here. I think it just humbles us really. She is in very good health and she’s not been to the hospital for about three years. Looking at her now, doing her driving lessons, it seems amazing. Everything went the way the hospital thought it would go - she’s the right height and everything is absolutely fine."

In 1994, Kirsty cycled round Edgeley Park on her bike - complete with stabilisers - to raise money for other sick toddlers. A huge crowd turned out to see her do it, including legendary Stockport County footballer Kevin Francis.

Her heartrending story, which the Stockport Express reported at the time, touched the hearts of everyone in the town and she raised £1,600 for Pendlebury children’s hospital.

Kirsty, of Sterndale Road, is now studying nursing at Stockport College - but as she turns 18 she prefers not to think about how close she came.

"I don’t remember anything about it," she said. "But I kind of get upset when people talk about it because I don’t know how lucky I actually am. Everything’s so normal."