GAZETTE & HERALD: Brave four-year-old Lauren Emery is making a strong recovery after a life saving liver transplant operation.

Lauren, who lives with her grandparents Sue and Steve Pluckrose in Northfield, Calne, was born with liver disease.

She has been staying with her grandparents until her parents Joe, 32, and Helen, 27, move to North Wiltshire from Tidworth. They want to be in the north of the county so they have fast access to hospital.

Mr Emery said his daughter was recovering quickly and they hoped that she would be home next week.

"Things are going swimmingly well. The doctors said she making a textbook recovery but it is quicker than what we thought," he said.

Lauren's transplant took place at Birmingham Children's Hospital last Monday, April 19, after she had been on a waiting list for seven weeks.

"We were told it could take up to six months, so we weren't expecting it to happen so quickly. But if she had not had it she would have been dead before Christmas. It saved her life," said Mr Emery.

Before Lauren was born her parents were told that she had inverted organs and multiple spleens. At five weeks old she was diagnosed with liver disease and varices, which can cause blood vessels to rupture.

Before she was one year old Lauren had a bypass on her liver, which lasted four until this year, but then she became ill again.

Her father said: "Her old liver was like cardboard rather than being spongy. At the end of February this year we were told that she needed a transplant.

"The liver disease caused her to stop growing and she lost a lot of weight. She was getting tired very quickly and she could only go to Fynamore School for half a day."

But since her transplant Mr Emery said there had been a noticeable difference. "She has coped tremendously. She is a little battler. It is shocking to see how well kids do. I would be in bed for weeks.

"She is relieved that it is over and done with, but she took it in her stride. She understands what she has gone through, but not how serious it is. She has got a little bit of distance to go and the first three months are the most crucial."

Although Lauren was on the waiting list for a relatively short amount of time it was not all plain sailing.

"We found out on April 17 that they had a possible liver for her. We drove up to Birmingham and the car broke down on the way. The AA brought us to the hospital and on Sunday we were told the liver was unsuitable.

"My father-in-law came to take us home. Then the same day we had another phone call and we went back up to Birmingham in my wife's car. Lauren had the transplant the next day."

Mr Emery said he had discussed with his wife about what it would mean for their daughter to have a stranger's liver. He said: "Somebody had to die for her to have it. But what helped us come to terms with it is that they died anyway. The liver was just going to waste.

"It is thanks to the individual's family that they have given Lauren the biggest gift they could give to her."

But Mr Emery urged potential donors to make sure their relatives were aware of their wishes. Even if someone carries a donor card, their next of kin still has to give consent for their organs to be donated.

Mr Emery said his family knew that if he should die he would like his organs to be donated.

"The transplant saved Lauren's life. In two years time she can come off the disabled list and go on to become a normal adult. She is going to be on drugs for the rest of her life but she can still have a couple of pints with her friends."