Desperate parents bid to fund treatment of daughter's chronic 'mystery illness'

05 January 2023 , 22:49

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Sofia Wilcox, 3, suffers from a 'mystery' illness that leaves her bed-bound with coughs and breathing difficulties (Image: Danielle Creed)

Desperate parents are fundraising to pay for specialist treatment for their little girl after making 200 trips to their GP in three years.

Sofia Wilcox, three, began developing health issues when she was two months old, when she would vomit in her sleep, cough excessively, and struggled to breathe.

She was diagnosed with asthma and given an inhaler, but her condition worsened so was prescribed antibiotics with doctors at a loss as to why she was not improving.

Now mum Danielle Creed, 33, is looking to raise funds for private care to fix the problem.

She said: “My daughter was ill every single week. I've taken her to the GP at least 200 times in the past three years.

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"She's in and out of hospital all the time and she gets so upset to go. Sofia spent her second birthday at Warwick Hospital.

"We then took her to Coventry Hospital and she saw a specialist. She was given antibiotics every month and has been getting constant ear pains.

Danielle Creed, 33, is looking to raise funds for private care to fix the problem (Danielle Creed)

"We've been referred to a respiratory consultant because of the pain Sofia is in, but they still can't find a diagnosis for her.

"Sofia has been having this problem from birth and the acid had been going to her chest. I kept ringing my doctors and taking her to hospital and they kept saying it was viral."

Danielle told Coventry Live she often breaks down in tears seeing her daughter in constant agony and has shelved her wedding plans while she attempts to get Sofia seen by specialists.

Danielle rushed her daughter to the GP, but they diagnosed the tot with asthma and gave her inhalers to help curb her breathing problems (Danielle Creed)

Danielle Creed, 33, said her daughter Sofia would vomit in her sleep 'every night', cough excessively and struggled to breathe (Danielle Creed)

The mum previously ran a cleaning company but was forced to let go of her business to become Sofia's full-time carer.

She added: “I had a successful cleaning business, but I had to put that on hold because I'm her full-time carer.

"I get to work and I get phone calls that she's upset and she's ill, she won't eat, it affects her sleep, her eating, she won't drink, she's severely dehydrated. It shouldn't have got this far. No child should be in that much pain for that long.

“It's affected everything, it’s affected me. I've had to become a full-time carer. The doctors made me feel like I was insane.

Sofia receiving treatment in hospital (Danielle Creed)

Little Sofia is a brave fighter (Danielle Creed)

"I've had to put my wedding on hold as well because we're focused on Sofia now, and we don't have the finances."

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Once the finances are in place doctors would perform an adenotonsillectomy - an operation to remove both the adenoids and tonsils - and insert grommets, tiny tubes put into the eardrum to allow air to pass through, to keep the pressure on either side equal.

Danielle has so far raised more than £3,000 for Sofia's treatment.

Antony Thrower