A new struggle for brave Amy (From Wirral Globe)

A new struggle for brave Amy

4:32pm Tuesday 13th February 2007 in News By Justin Dunn

PLUCKY Amy Garton-Hughes has returned from her latest trip to the United States walking and talking better than ever.

She can now hold a hot drink without fear of scalding herself and eat happily at the dinner table without spilling.

And the pioneering treatment she has been receiving at the Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts - paid for with the help of generous Globe readers - is not only paying dividends to the 15-year-old Cockayne Syndrome sufferer from Wallasey.

There are now a growing number of children in America and around the world who are seeing dramatic improvements in their own CS symptoms, thanks to the treatments developed initially for Claremount schoolgirl Amy.

Her latest trip involved a gruelling five-hour operation for a lumbar puncture, involving an injection in her spine, and meant she had to stop taking drugs which have helped stop her shaking.

"Amy struggled," said her mum, Jayne. "We had to stop giving her the Levadopa for her tremors and if affected her more than we could have imagined.

"The tremor returned and the bright, sparky girl we knew was replaced by a more timid, less confident one who had difficulty walking, eating, and even just thinking."

Doctors have now also discovered that Amy has a deteriorating problem with her retinas that could eventually lead to blindness, and may possibly have a vitamin B12 deficiency, which may be causing the numbness that makes walking so hard for her.

Amy remains upbeat, however. She opened a new Spar store in Reeds Lane, Moreton, at the weekend, and just days earlier enjoyed pelting Globe writer Justin Dunn with snowballs!

To help, send cheques to Amy Garton-Hughes, c/o Wirral Globe, Haymar-ket Court, Hinson Street, Birkenhead CH41 5BX.