Brave Georgina celebrates sixth birthday

Georgina’s story was first highlighted by the Leader in 2007 and now the brave pupil of Fair Hill Primary School has recently celebrated her sixth birthday.

“This week we will be going to Great Ormond Street for further tests and review appointments and on our return we have an appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children, so it is a pretty hectic schedule at the moment,” Georgina’s mum, Christine, told the Leader.

“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank the local community for their continued support, both prayerful and financial, and for their genuine concern for Georgina and the other children with this condition.

“I also want to let people know that the website www.nihig.com has been revised and updated recently and there is now a link to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hyperinsulinism Fund at www.hi-fund.org”

Georgina suffers from the rare metabolic disorder, hyperinsulinism, in which the pancreas over-produces insulin, resulting in dangerously low blood-sugar levels which, if not properly managed, can lead to seizures, organ and brain damange, and even death.

When she was born in 2005, she was the only child in Northern Ireland to suffer from the condition and, since then, in an effort to raise awareness, as well as funds, the Bailey family has set up a Northern Ireland Hyperinsulinism Support Group.

The six-year-old must have regular blood glucose monitoring and is on long-term drug treatment for the disorder, which is described as the clinical opposite of diabetes mellitus when the pancreas produces too little insulin to control blood sugar levels.

Money raised locally will go towards funding genetic investigation into the life-threatening condition, and the hope of Georgina’s parents is that this will eventually lead to a cure.