Published: Wednesday, 30th April, 2008 12:00
Tribute to Yorkhill for saving Laiya's life
By Bob Lovik
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Mum Karla Harrison is grateful to Yorkhill Hospital where little Laiya received life-saving treatment.
A CLACKMANNAN couple will be cheering on friends this Saturday as they set off on a charity trek in support of the children’s hospital that saved their daughter’s life.
When Karla and Scott Harrison were asked by their friend, Gary Mathieson, if he could organise a charity walk on the West Highland Way to raise money for Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow, they were more than happy to support his efforts.
The children’s hospital is where their daughter, Laiya, spent her first 16 weeks fighting for her life.
Laiya was born in February 2007 with an extremely rare condition that causes a narrowing of her airways. As doctors tried to determine the cause of her condition, Laiya underwent several life-saving operations.
Karla told the Advertiser, “Both Laiya’s nasal passages and her wind pipe were blocked and she had to have a tracheotomy. The doctors did a series of genetic tests but everything came back negative. They still don’t know exactly what caused it.
“Most people would want to know why but I’ve accepted that this is one of those things that just happened. I didn’t care why at the time. I just wanted her alive and to get better.”
Laiya recently celebrated her first birthday at home with mum and dad and her big brother Marcus (4).
The group walking the 95-mile West Highland Way from the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William have already raised over £1000 and Scott’s employer, Diageo, has promised to match the total.
Karla said she is thrilled to support the children’s hospital that cared for Laiya in the precarious days after her birth in ward 2B.
She said, “I think that ward is absolutely fantastic. I can’t praise them enough. Laiya has regular check-ups there every four to six months and we always make sure we stop in to say hello.”
Gary (40) organised the trip to show his gratitude to the hospital for saving his best mate Scott’s daughter. Gary and his wife, Lillian, had a daughter themselves within two days of Laiya’s birth.
Gary said, “Karla and Scott are really good friends of ours and we wanted to do something to show that we were encouraged by the way they coped with Laiya’s illness. They couldn’t have spoken more highly of the way the hospital’s staff cared for their daughter.”
Gary is no stranger to the West Highland Way. Not only will this be his seventh trip on the long-distance footpath but he and his wife were married on the trail three years ago.
They plan on spending their third anniversary walking along the banks of Loch Lomond.
And while Karla won’t be joining the group for the entire trek, she will be walking the final 14 miles from Kinlochleven to Fort William.
She said, “I’m very much looking forward to it. I have two dogs and walk them to Dunfermline along the old rail line so I’ve done my training. I’d like to wish everyone good luck and say thank you to all our friends and family who helped us out when Laiya was ill.
“Scott’s mum and my parents really helped us out with Marcus and the dogs. They really picked up the pieces for us.”
Gary and the group start their trek this Saturday in Milngavie and will walk into Fort William seven days later.
Sponsor forms are available at the Royal Oak Hotel in Alloa or donations can be made on-line at www.justgiving.com/charity/donate.asp?FRSID=13530
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