Baby Elie’s mercy flight dash to United States from Ireland

Only treatment in Boston can save little girl‘s life

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 7:06 AM

Updated Friday, December 9, 2011, 3:00 PM

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The Madden family: Esti and Eddie with their twin daughters Elie and Emie

Photo by www.eliemadden.com

A Dublin father has thanked the Irish government for flying his one-year-old daughter to Boston for urgent treatment of a congenital digestive disorder.

Little Elie Madden is the first patient flown across the Atlantic by the government jet as she prepares for treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Elie suffers with digestive disorders caused by a five centimetre gap between her oesophagus and her stomach. The condition is known as severe posterior tracheomalacia and long gap oesophageal atresia.

Her congenital defects were diagnosed during pregnancy although her twin sister Emie was born in good health.

Dad Eddie Madden told the Irish Times how the condition prevents the toddler from being able to eat, drink or swallow without medical equipment.

The paper reported that since birth by emergency Caesarean, Elie has had a continuous suction tube through her nose and requires regular ventilation treatment.

Already she has spent nine months in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin, and has also been treated at home recently in Santry with 16-hour daily medical support.

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The toddler has already undergone a number of operations for a related heart condition. Her forthcoming medical care in Boston will involve an induced coma lasting at least three months to allow her oesophagus to grow - a procedure known as Foker’s technique.

Mum Esti, sister Emie and grandmother Anita accompanied Elie on the government sponsored flight from Casement Aerodrome on Monday. A specialist medical team also accompanied the family ahead of the $500,000 treatment.

Father Eddie has remained in Dublin and hopes to fly to Boston over the Christmas holiday.

“It was very hard saying goodbye this morning, but the HSE and the Air Corps have been fantastic,” he told The Irish Times.

“Knowing that Elie is going into a coma is perhaps the hardest part, but the alternative is a lifetime of medical complications. One Irish child successfully underwent the same treatment last year.

“The treatment was quoted initially at $1.2 million. This has been negotiated down to a minimum of $500,000, but it depends how long the aftercare lasts.”

Ireland’s Health Service and the Voluntary Health Insurance body are funding the cost of the procedure while the Madden family are fundraising to cover the cost of their stay in Boston.

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ciarajoyce | Nov 30, 2011, 11:23 PM EST

Is it standard to wait this long before treating the condition? Now is better than never, but a younger child wouldn't remember as much. It does sound like the little girl had a number of problems, so I hope they were taken in order of necessity. I've talked to many people who don't remember very far back, but I clearly remember things before my first birthday. I was not healthy and I remember the pain clearly and after that, the fear and knowledge that the pain was returning, back that far. Those are not fun as "first memories." Hopefully, they will use an amnesia-producing mix of drugs when they lighten the coma. The plane ride over will have been a lark. She's got new sights and new sounds, and people she knows. Good hospitals like Boston's know how not to scare children and how to use amnesia drugs in the little ones. I'm glad they can repair the problem, cause those parents have had their hands full. Maybe one of the wealthy Irish private-jet owners (yes, there still are some) can take Daddy there for Christmas and bring him home, and one of the always wealthy private-jet owners in the US can bring the girls all home in March, just for fun. If not, then the same plane should return to get the girls in the family. With both girls healthy and active, the parents will really know what it's like to have their hands full, but they'll have fun.

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seagreen | Nov 29, 2011, 09:36 AM EST

All the best to the child and family...A salute to the air crew flying the baby to Boston

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happyfeet | Nov 29, 2011, 09:18 AM EST

thoughts and prayers are with the Madden family..God bless.

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gobdawpaddy | Nov 29, 2011, 08:47 AM EST

Much more approriate use of Irish governmant aircraft than ferrying Mary Harney to Mayo to open an off-licence or John O'Donoghue around Europe like the Sultan of Brunei. It appears that Mr Kenny has put in place a lot of restrictions on the use of Aer Corps planes and helicopters in an effort to save Irish taxpayer money and I would imagine to make ministers a little more humble. They did shoot themselves in the foot on that front by granting themselves the use of bus lanes, but at least that is not costing anything. Also noticed since March that the few of them that I have encountered, are a lot more frugal when it comes to their department's choice of hotel at least on visits to New York.

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