Rare disease leaves baby Hollie in need of life-saving transplant
Hollie O'Riordan, from Glenheights in Ballyvolane, Cork, is one of just 50 people in the world, and the only person in Ireland, with the rare intestinal disorder Microvillus Inclusion Disease (MID).
The condition means Hollie can't absorb enough essential nutrients because of the incomplete development of her intestinal wall.
Her parents, Sylvia and Eddie, have been trained to use a machine that feeds Hollie a special nutritional complex.
Unfortunately, the food that is keeping her alive is causing her liver to deteriorate, meaning an operation is needed within six months.
Doctors have confirmed that having attained her goal weight of 5kgs, Hollie is now healthy enough to have a vital liver and small bowel transplant, but it must be carried out while her liver is still strong enough.
Friends and family of the O'Riordans have hosted a number of fundraisers, and a special bank account has been set up to help the O'Riordans cope with the financial cost of the operation, as well as Hollie's recovery.
"Essentially, it will have to be the death of another child that will save ours, which is awful but that's how it is," said Sylvia.
"Money shouldn't come into it but it does it's a fact of life."
Hollie became violently ill and had a swollen stomach 11 days after being born at the Bons Secours Hospital.
She was diagnosed with MID at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, and in January, doctors gave the O'Riordans bleak news.
"We were told there was no hope, that we'd just have to take her to pallative care and see her out," said Sylvia, who gave up her job to care for Hollie.
However, on January 22, she was christened and confirmed, and the day marked a remarkable turnaround in her life, which her parents hope can continue, as she is on a waiting list for the life-saving operation in the UK.
Anyone who would like to donate to the Hollie O'Riordan fund can do so using AIB account 35421081, sort code 93-43-48.
