Daily Mirror story 15 May 2000

How a little girl's letter to God saved her baby sister

It was a simple letter, written in her best handwriting and addressed to the highest authority she knew. When eight-year-old Emma Heaton sent a heartfelt message to God, pleading with him to let her keep her seriously ill baby sister, her faith was rewarded.

Shortly after she tearfully read out her plea on TV, 24,000 people offered themselves as possible bone marrow donors for her sister Beth. And one person was a perfect match.

Beth under a life-saving bone marrow transplant in October and on Thursday doctors gave her the all clear. Now it is hard to believe the rosy-cheeked little girl who has just celebrated her first birthday was close to death.

Her parents Karen and Stuart believe Emma's letter played a major role in helping to save Beth's life.

When Emma was three her baby sister Katie died aged eight months from a rare bowel condition. Despite her young age, the memories of loss were so vivid that when it seemed she might lose Beth as well, Emma refused to let her go. She knew time was running out in their hunt for a suitable donor and told her Mum and Dad: "Don't worry. I'll write a letter to God and he will make it better."

And while Stuart and Karen kept a vigil at Beth's hospital bedside, Emma opened up her school pencil case and concentrated hard as she wrote:

"Dear God, Please can I keep my sister because I love her very much. You have Katie in Heaven and if you take Beth I will have no sisters left. Tell Katie I love her. I say my prayers every night. Love from Emma."

When Emma read out her letter on BBC's City Hospital the response was overwhelming. Thousands of people signed up to the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust - and one 22-year-old man was the ideal match.

Although the Heatons from Totton, near Southampton, do not know his identity a goodwill card from him arrived in time for Beth's birthday celebrations. Sent via the Nolan Trust, the card says:

"Hello, Just a few lines to let you know I'm think of you all. I hope that the future now looks much brighter for you all. My partner and I are so happy we have made your daughter better. When I have a bad day I just look back at events that have happened over the past few months and it lifts me back up. Thank you for this. We would love to meet you all in the future. Take care. Your Friend."

Emma has no doubts she will meet the stranger whose kindness saved Beth's life.

"I'm going to give him a big hug and tell him how proud I am of him. He must be a very special person," she says. Beth was born with a blood disorder so rare that doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital had never seen a case like it before.

There is a one-in-a-million chance of a newborn suffering from aplastic anaemia, where the body has no bone marrow at all. When Beth was born, she seemed healthy, but within two hours her tiny body began to bruise at the lightest touch. Stuart, an internet manager, says: "We couldn't believe this was happening to us again. Because of Katie, Karen's pregnancy was heavily monitored. But the one thing the checks could not pick up was that Beth had no bone marrow."

Karen adds: "We thought hard about having another child. Any parent who has buried a child knows how devasting it is to see that small white box lowered into a grave. But Emma needed a sibling and we felt the time was right. In a way it was to show Emma bad things don't happen all the time. We wanted to restore her confidence in life. When I was pregnant, Emma was very worried about the baby and would ask the midwife, "Is this baby OK". Everything seemed fine. Then suddenly it seemed we were reliving the nightmare.

"Beth ended up in an incubator just ten steps away from the ward where Katie died." As Beth's life hung in the balance, Emma asked her mum: "Is Beth a sister for me or for Katie in heaven?" Karen, 35, says: "It was an impossible question to answer."

Because Beth was unable to produce new blood, she needed transfusions every two weeks. These increased to every two days as her platelet count fell dramatically. With no immune system, her life revolved around a sterile isolation unit, where cuddles were given through plastic gloves and kisses were banned in case they hurt her. "It got to the stage where doctors said they didn't want her to cry in case the force caused a brain haemorrhage," says Karen.

"At one stage Stuart and I took it in turns to stay up through the night and watch her as she slept because sometimes her eyes would bleed. We were terrified she might die while we slept."

It was Emma's strength which pulled her parents through their bleakest days, and they would often hear her praying before going to bed.

Stuart, 35, says: "Emma just wasn't prepared to lose another sister. When we heard her prayers, we just felt it would be so unjust if Beth was taken away."

Now Stuart and Karen can finally start to plan their lives as a proper family. "Everything has been on hold," says Stuart. "We had not even dared to plan for Beth's first birthday. Now we can start thinking about things most people take for granted."

Emma, who has her heart set on being a vet, never doubted her sister would get better. Smiling confidently, she says: "I always had a good feeling about Beth. I love her very much. I love Katie very much too but with Beth, I knew she was going to make it."

Despite the turmoil and pain cherubic Beth has endured in the last 12 months, she is blissfully oblivious to the drama. Stuart says: "Beth has never really accepted she was poorly and has treated her condition as an inconvenience. She is cheeky and determined and has shown an amazing spirit. This little girl just wanted to live - and she's still got a lot of living to do."

If you would like to register as a donor at the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust or make a cash donation, please call their hotline on 0901 8822234.