A young mum has been left devastated and writing a bucket list after doctors told her in a shock diagnosis that she may have just 12 months left to live if she can't get a life-saving emergency transplant.
Kelsie Jade McHugh from Fitton Hill and her husband, Danny, have had plenty to celebrate, from the birth of their "miracle" baby girl, Renae, to Kelsie's more recent 30th birthday.
The couple had been trying for a baby for eight years and were about to start their IVF journey when Kelsie fell pregnant naturally.
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However, in the 18 months since Renae was born, Kelsie has been in and out of hospital, enduring health battle after battle which has left her battling multiple organ failure and a TPN machine to keep her alive.
The primary school teaching assistant was told two months ago that she might not live to see another year if she doesn't have a bowel, and possibly liver, transplant.
The 30-year-old, who has had cystic fibrosis since she was a baby, said her health plummeted after a 'mistake' was made when she gave birth to her baby girl.
Kelsie went into labour at just 29 weeks in October 2022, and when the baby's heart "just stopped", she had an emergency c-section under anaesthetic.
However, within an hour of little Renae being born, the mum went into cardiac arrest and was rushed into theatre again.
She said medics had sliced her bladder during the birth but had "not realised" and "left it open".
The error resulted in Kelsie suffering from blood and bowel poisoning, which led to intestinal failure.
Despite this, Kelsie said she could go home with her family a few weeks later and "things started looking up".
She added: "I wasn't poorly then."
But things took a turn for the worst around Christmas as Kelsie reported a multitude of symptoms from sickness to excessive tiredness.
She also lost a lot of hair and dropped 70lbs in a matter of weeks, weighing just seven stone.
Doctors said she had an infection and brought her into long-term hospital care as of May 2023 - but she wasn't to return home until January the following year.
During her eight-month ordeal, she was put on a TPN machine, which is used when all or a part of a person's digestive system does not work and they are unable to swallow food or absorb nutrients, and had to teach herself how to walk again.
Reflecting on that time, Kelsie said: "It was scary. I was close to death a few times."
In August, she was diagnosed with bowel failure and was transferred to Salford Royal Hospital for a "big surgery".
Doctors discovered Kelsie's bowel had stopped working and in some places had "rotted", leaving behind a "big mass" which needed to be removed.
Kelsie was fitted with her first stoma in an operation on Halloween and while the family were looking forward to having her home on December 11, she was told her bowel then perforated and that most of her bowl needed to be taken away.
A second surgery left her with two stomas and on a TPN machine for the rest of her life.
She continued: "I was in surgery for seven hours and then woke up two days later not really knowing what had gone on, but then they told me, 'You're on TPN, drinking does nothing for you'.
"I can still eat and drink but I'm on a limit of a litre of fluid a day or less and now I just eat for taste.
"I was devastated, literally devastated. I was happy I could eat a little bit because I used to be such a foodie, I loved my food.
"It was just scary - I'd just got used to one stoma and now I've got two and I was meant to be going home for Christmas but ended up staying in.
"It was just awful really."
In January this year, Kelsie was able to return home and had been busy making up for lost time with little Renae.
She said everything was "going well" again and had recently learnt how to handle her own TPN machine as she said being hooked to the equipment 18 hours a day was restricting her freedom.
Kelsie added: "I learnt how to do that in two weeks - nurses were really impressed. They knew I had this eagerness behind me and I wanted to do it."
Tragically, potassium levels in her blood suddenly dropped and she was back in hospital again "on the edge of a heart attack".
Medics then broke the news to her that her pancreas had failed, making her insulin-dependent, while her kidney, liver and heart were also failing.
Kelsie continued: "Within a week, I was diagnosed with multiple organ failure and I was given 12 months to live.
"I wasn't expecting it - I know people have been on TPN machines for 20-odd years.
"I thought I would be fine but it's the TPN machine that's causing my organ failure."
Now, the mum who used to be an avid singer before her health problems took hold, is eagerly waiting for a phone call to process her onto the transplant list.
She said it's tough to get on the list though believes her young age makes her a priority patient.
However, she added: "The problem is I need a small bowel transplant which obviously has to come from someone who has, unfortunately, passed away.
"I've had a liver biopsy to see how far along my liver damage is and they've said if I need a liver transplant, we don't think that they're going to do it as they don't think I'll survive a double transplant.
"But then if I do need a liver, I can have a live donor because the liver regenerates, so it just needs to be a match.
"Because of my cystic fibrosis, I can't absorb anything like the tablets that help my lungs - so I've lost a lot of lung function in the past few months and the last thing they want is for me to need a lung transplant as well.
"So I think that's why they're rushing it a lot as well but we're just hoping I get on the list as soon as possible."
For Kelsie and her family, the transplant would mean "the absolute world".
She said: "It would mean I could be the mum that I want to be again. I'm struggling at the moment as it's hard being with an 18-month-old and being so unwell.
"My husband is at work all day, just to support us."
The mum said her husband and her mum are "in denial" about her diagnosis as the pair are staying strong.
She continued: "Danny is the glue that holds us all together.
"My social workers were talking to me about filling out an end-of-life plan, just in case it comes to it, and my mum was like, 'You don't need to do that yet'.
"But I need to prepare just in case I do get too poorly and I've not been able to have a transplant.
"I'm just waiting for a phone call."
While she's determined to get better and see her little girl grow up, Kelsie has a GoFundMe page to support them through financial pressures, such as if and when Kelsie has to go to Cambridge for her transplant, and help tackle her bucket list.
Before the pandemic, Kelsie was a passionate singer who used to gig in local pubs every weekend - and it's been her dream to meet and sing with Adele, and meet Charlotte Crosby, who have both been added to her list.
Most of her other bucket list items involve spending crucial time with family and making memories to last a lifetime, such as a trip to Chester Zoo, flying a kite, seeing a live musical, having dinner at The Ritz, going roller skating and going to the Lake District and staying in a log cabin.
She also wants to take Ranae to Wales, teach her how to swim and visit CBeebies Land.
Kelsie continued: "I want to get my life back and I want be able to bring my daughter up as I wanted her for so long.
"But I want to do this bucket list for Renae and for Danny as well because it'll mean the world to me knowing that they've got those memories forever."
Donations to Kelsie's bucket list can be made by visiting GoFundMe by searching the website for Kelsie, Danny and Renae.
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