Violett's story

Violett’s mum, Donna Stanger, said:

“My daughter Violett was born with primary lymphedema in her left leg. Her lymphoedema wasn’t detected when I was pregnant and so we didn’t know that she had the condition until she was born. She had blood tests, scans, x-rays, and everything was coming back normal – it was a mystery to healthcare professionals.

“We finally got introduced to St Oswald’s Hospice when Violett was six-months-old. She had intense bandaging treatment but nothing seemed to reduce the swelling in her leg. It wasn’t until she had an MRI scan at 18-months-old that it was detected that her lymph junction in her left groin area was missing. To help her lymphoedema, Violett was given custom made garment stockings which she has to wear all the time.

“This summer, we noticed a mark on her foot which seemed to be a little concerning so we arranged an appointment at the Hospice. The Hospice decided on a two week course of intense bandaging treatment as her leg was extremely hard and it had grown rapidly. We visited St Oswald’s every day to get Violett bandaged and I realised for the first time that the swelling was reducing massively. Kath and Jill were amazing, took all the relevant safety measures and wore PPE, so we felt really comfortable visiting the hospice every day.”

Donna ended:

“The Hospice is like another family to us. We can’t thank them enough and look forward to her review later this month to hopefully reduce her leg a bit more with another intense bandaging course.”