'My daughter is terminally ill - but I'm determined to make final wish happen'
A young girl is determined to fulfill the final wish on her bucket list after being given a terminal diagnosis.
Caitlin Shaw, 21, agreed to a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order three weeks ago after being told there was nothing more that medics could do to treat her congenital heart condition.
She was initially given 24 hours to live after being born with the disease in 2002, and underwent open-heart surgery at just three weeks old.
Caitlin, from Cheshire, has since faced a lengthy battle of appointments and further operations, including a heart bypass to save her life at the age of six.
A few years later, around the age of 10, she was diagnosed with severe Klippel-Feil syndrome and severe scoliosis kyphoscoliosis - a combination of rare spinal disorders which "has never been seen in the world".
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Her mum, Samantha MacVicar, told the Mirror: "The doctors always call her a miracle and say she shouldn't be here. I don't even know how she is here."
Despite being in and out of hospital for months at a time, Caitlin has taken it in her stride and "fought her way through".
However, her condition deteriorated after regular checks on her heart were paused during the coronavirus pandemic, and her family struggled to get face-to-face appointments.
They are now trying to raise funds to complete the biggest wish on her bucket list, which is to go abroad on holiday.
Caitlin celebrated her 21st birthday last week (Caitlin's wishes/Facebook)Samantha said: "Her heart's now deteriorated too much, and they can't operate.
"We were going to speak to doctors and surgeons, however when we went back, they told us there was nothing more they could do and asked Caitlin if she'd agree to a DNR. I was heartbroken.
"I had no words and was in total shock because obviously, as a mum, I was expecting them to continue to keep saving her. Then with the DNR, it was just total shock.
"It feels like it's come to an end now. I know now that there's nothing more that can be done for her."
Caitlin is unable to fly due to the complexity of her heart and lung condition, and the cabin pressures, so her only option for going abroad is by cruise.
Caitlin pictured with her stepdad (Sam Jane MacVicar)
Despite being in and out of hospital for months at a time, Caitlin has taken it in her stride (Sam Jane MacVicar)Her mum said: "She's never been able to go abroad. If she was happy and healthy, I think she would have been a traveller.
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"When growing up she was always saying 'I want to go here, I want to go there', which pulls on your heartstrings as a parent - when she says that and you're sat there thinking 'you're never going to be able to go'.
"So her main one was to go abroad, but she's not allowed to fly because of the pressures of the heart, in case anything happens.
"So the only way we can go is by cruise. She wants to go to Spain, Amsterdam, and the other places she wants to visit are in the UK - London, Ireland and Scotland."
She is steadily working through the rest of her bucket list, which includes riding on a motorbike, meeting Danny O'Donoghue from The Script and pulling pints from as many pubs as she can.
Samantha continued: "She absolutely loves all the soaps - Coronation Street, Eastenders... she's met some of the cast from Emmerdale, then she writes to Eastenders and Coronation Street constantly.
"She wanted to go to Blackpool for a final time - for some reason she loves it there, I'm not a big lover of Blackpool but we have to go with it! She's just spent her 21st birthday there, last Tuesday.
"She can't do what other 21-year-olds would normally do, getting drunk and partying, so we took her to the show Mamma Mia. She absolutely loved that.
"She wanted to ride a motorbike but I was like 'I don't think so Caitlin', so a group of motorbikes are going to come to pick her up in June and take her out on one."
Her family is now trying to raise funds to complete the biggest wish on her bucket list, which is to go abroad on holiday (Sam Jane MacVicar)At the time of writing, Caitlin's family has raised over £10,400 through 387 donations on their GoFundMe page.
The Royal Artillery, of which Caitlin's veteran stepdad was part of, first encouraged them to set up the fundraiser.
Samantha added: "In the community where we are, Caitlin is well-loved. Her stepdad is an ex-veteran, so they've been generous and have been great.
"The cruise itself is quite hard work - you'd think you could just go and book it, but the cruise itself for me, Caitlin and her stepdad is nearly £8,000.
"Then due to Caitlin's terminal illness and all her conditions, we're being quoted up to £1500 just for insurance.
"I would love to go with more family members, but obviously at the moment we can only afford me, her stepdad and her, but we would've loved to have taken her dad and stepmum. Caitlin would have wanted that."
She is planning to take Caitlin on a cruise within the next two months, and is hoping for a booking confirmation this week.
Samantha said: "We're just overwhelmed by the support that we have got. It's been amazing really. At first people were saying we should start one, and I was like 'I don't really want to'. It's not something you really want to do.
"We were just expecting a little bit of support, then it just started going absolutely mad. I was thinking 'oh my god'.
"People were ringing me and I was like 'this is mad'. It just goes to show, and it's comfort for me, that she is loved, and that's the main thing, and there is support for her. I don't know how she's getting through it.
"She's quite a comical little lady really, and she just takes everything in her stride.
"She does struggle doing some of the activities on the bucket list, but she won't give in. As soon as she would say 'I want to ride a horse', she'd be straight on it, and she wouldn't give in until she got on that horse."
You can help Caitlin to fulfill her last wishes by donating to her fundraising page here.
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