I’m doing Great North Run for little Isabella

Isabella Lloyd was just three weeks old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of Cystic Fibrosis. The news came as a body blow to her doting parents, former Huddersfield Town footballer Anthony Lloyd and his wife Rachael.

“When Isabella was born she had the usual heel-prick test when they look for the five main disabilities. When she was about three weeks old we got a call at home to say she had cystic fibrosis,” explains Anthony, 29.

“We were devastated. We didn’t know anything about the disease but ever since that day we have tried to get to know everything about it. We’ve turned into real boffins so we know the subject inside-out because that’s what’s best for our little girl.

“It was a massive shock but we have lived well with it and we use cystic fibrosis as a positive rather than a negative. That’s because of the way Bella is. She’s brilliant.”

Isabella is now three and according to her dad, deals with her illness amazingly well.

“Because she was diagnosed so early she has never really known any different and so she takes it in her stride. She is so willing to take her medicine and have her physiotherapy which are both vital to people with cystic fibrosis. She wants to do a lot of it herself.”

Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs and digestive system. Before every meal, especially those with fat in, Isabella has to have a special enzyme to help her digest the food. “She gives herself the antibiotics as well as Creon, the pancreatic supplement she needs and she also loves her trampolining which is a form of physio as well and she loves running about and getting on her bike,” says Anthony, who now lives in Pontefract with his family.

“It’s because of that that Bella has not had been hospitalised by cystic fibrosis just yet, touch-wood.”

Rachael is Isabella’s carer and makes sure that she keeps her little girl away from anything which might cause an infection.

“She can’t go near stagnant water and if we visit a farm she cannot touch any of the animals,” explains Anthony. “She is supposed to avoid anywhere where there are lots of people, especially groups of people. But we weigh up the pros and cons of each situation. We believe it is really important for her to socialise with other children. We try to make sure that there’s no-one there with a cough or a cold and so far we have got it right.”

The Lloyds face an anxious day-to-day life as Isabella starts nursery for the first time.

Anthony, who now plays football for Farsley Celtic in the Evo-Stik League Northern Premier League, hopes to raise more than £1,000 in sponsorship for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by completing the Great North Run on Tyneside on Sunday.

And, as he prepares for the famous half-marathon, he says he is motivated by his daughter’s ability to cope with the incurable disease and the progress she is making under renowned Leeds-based cystic fibrosis specialist Dr Keith Brownlee, the father of Yorkshire’s Olympian brothers, Jonny and Alistair.

“The doctors in Leeds are brilliant and Keith Brownlee who looks after Isabella is really fantastic. He is such a nice guy. He thinks the world of Isabella.

“He thinks she is a little star. I think he uses her as a little guinea pig in the nicest possible way because she is so well and she has an extremely rare mutation of cystic fibrosis. They have only ever seen that mutation three times before.” There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis, a complex two-pronged disease which affects the lungs and digestive system, but life expectancy is rising thanks to the fundraising efforts of people like Anthony.

“Above all I am inspired by my daughter and hopefully she can be inspired by me,” Anthony said. “I want her to be as proud of me as I am of her and the progress she is making despite having the disease. She’s doing really well.

“I’m doing the Great North Run to raise much-needed cash for the charity but also to raise awareness of the disease.

“Things are getting better and better and cystic fibrosis seems 
to getting a higher profile even since Bella was born, but there needs to be more research to 
find a cure.”

Anthony, now an engineer with GSPK Circuits who have offices in Knaresborough and Boroughbridge, has had to overcome his own health issues to not only take on the Great North Run but also to be able to do the everyday activities with his daughter.

“When I was playing football I broke my leg really badly and the doctors said I’d never play again or jog around with my daughter,” said Anthony, a former pupil of St Joseph’s School in Pontefract.

“It was car-crash material. I was playing for Guiseley at Kendal in the FA Cup. I’d just gone to pass the ball back to the keeper and someone went knee-knee and did a lot of damage.

“There were seven things I did in total and the Bingley-based surgeon, Steve Bollen who saved the careers of Paul Gascoigne and Michael Owen did the operation. I was warned that I may never run or play football again.

“Steve said I’d be extremely lucky to get back to it. He said it was one of the worst sporting injuries he had seen. If I hadn’t been for Steve I doubt I would be playing still or even running round the park with my daughter. I was close to losing my leg from my knee down. The most satisfying thing is that I can play chase with Isabella or cycle with her when she’s on her balance-bike. That’s so important. It means I can do the Great North Run and do my bit for the CF Trust. Obviously the cure is the Holy Grail.”

As the for the future Anthony and Rachael want what any parent wants.

“We want Bella to have a super-bright future. We want her to be independent and above all to outlive myself and Rachael.”

Twitter@ypcscott

Genetic cause of Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a life-shortening inherited disease, affecting almost 10,000 people in the UK.

It is an inherited disease caused by a faulty gene. This gene controls the movement of salt and water in and out of cells, so the lungs and digestive system become clogged with mucus, making it hard to breathe and digest food.

More than two million people in the UK carry the faulty gene. Both parents have to carry it for a baby to develop CF.

Each week five babies are born with CF, and two people die. More than half of the CF population in the UK will live past 41.

To sponsor Anthony visit www.justgiving.com/Anthony-Lloyd