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Meet Chloe who is taking on the Anfield Abseil to celebrate a birthday she feared she might not reach

2 weeks ago

Meet Chloe who is taking on the Anfield Abseil to celebrate a birthday she feared she might not reach
Chloe - Anfield Abseil (Right pic credit: John Blackhurst)

After being diagnosed with meningitis at four weeks old medics feared Chloe Birchall wouldnā€™t make it through another night.

But the Warrington woman is 25 this year ā€“ and planning taking on the 100ft Anfield Abseil, at the home of LFC, to celebrate the milestone birthday it was feared she might never reach.

Call centre worker Chloe is undertaking the challenge to raise money for Alder Hey Childrenā€™s Hospital who carried out a life-saving operation when she was only six weeks old.

Chloe says: ā€œWhen I was first diagnosed my mum was told to have me baptised because they werenā€™t sure I would survive until the next day.

ā€œBut thanks to the incredible care and efforts of Alder Hey I did.ā€

She adds: ā€œAlthough the initial target has been set for Ā£900, Iā€™m hoping to raise Ā£2,500 to mark my 25th birthday in 2025. It feels like a big milestone to me, and something to celebrate. 

ā€œThe abseil will be daunting but exciting too, and I still feel very lucky to be here and make the most of the life I have because of Alder Hey.ā€

Everything had seemed okay when Chloe, from Penketh, was first born, but at four weeks old she had a seizure.

Chloe as a baby with mum Carol
Chloe as a baby with mum Carol

She was rushed to hospital where a series of tests revealed meningitis – and mum Carol was warned to prepare for the worst.

ā€œThey didnā€™t think I was going to live.

ā€œI was transferred to Alder Hey as soon as I had been stabilised, but I became seriously ill,ā€ says Chloe. ā€œAs well as other issues, I developed hydrocephalus where cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain causing increased pressure. 

ā€œThere was an extreme risk that even if I survived I could be deaf, blind, or in a wheelchair.

ā€œI was given intravenous antibiotics to treat the viral infection, and I was fitted with a shunt two weeks later to help drain the fluid that was building up in my brain.

ā€œThe operation took 17 Ā½ hours and think I was one of the youngest people in the North West to have been given a shunt at that time.

ā€œI was in Alder Hey for about a year while doctors worked to clear the infection and monitor my condition after I had the shunt.ā€

The shunt which continued to drain the fluid that built up in Chloeā€™s brain has had a significant impact on her life.

Chloe as a baby with nana Eva
Chloe as a baby with nana Eva

Aware that a bang to her head could cause a blockage, Chloe was told that she couldnā€™t take part in contact sports because the risk was too great: ā€œWhich was hard when I have a big family of rugby fans and my mum played hockey,ā€ Chloe admits. ā€œEven when I started school, if I slipped in the playground it would start alarm bells ringing and my mum would be called.

ā€œI couldnā€™t do PE most of the time because of it, and I was bullied because I was the girl who was different.

ā€œI became anxious about things.ā€

It was at university in Staffordshire where Chloe studied English Literature and Creative Writing that she began to become more sure of herself.

ā€œWe had to write an essay about something that made us unique and so I wrote about what had happened to me and my shunt.

ā€œI learned about the mental effects of the shunt, like the short term memory it can cause ā€“ which explained why I might forget someoneā€™s name; and I learned about the physical effects which helped me understand why my balance isnā€™t great.

ā€œIt helped me understand more about me and I became more confident.

ā€œLuckily I came out of meningitis relatively unscathed.ā€

Chloe Birchall
Chloe Birchall is taking on the Anfield Abseil

And she says: ā€œI was in and out of Alder Hey throughout my life for operations and procedures, but it was never an unhappy time.

ā€œAlder Hey is such an amazing hospital and so instead of thinking of it as dark and depressing I remember it as a place where I made wonderful memories, where I played with toys and games of snakes and ladders.

ā€œThatā€™s why I wanted to celebrate my 25th birthday ā€“ which I can because of them ā€“ and raise money so they can continue to do what they did for me for other children.

ā€œI had planned to do a bungee jump but the risks to the shunt were too great, so I decided to do the abseil at Anfield stadium instead. I wanted to do something big.ā€

Chloe, who has had her creative work published on Amazon ā€“ Raised by Mountains, a collection of childhood stories under the pseudonym Ember Birchall, as well as poetry collections ā€“ plans to do the abseil around the end of August, between her birthday on August 4 and the September 4 anniversary of the operation that saved her life.

ā€œI think about how different things might have been, and how lucky I am to be able to do the things I do.

ā€œIā€™m thankful for my mum and friends at work and the open mic night I go to who have donated and taken part with scratchcards Iā€™ve run to boost donations.

ā€œMore than anything Iā€™m thankful to Alder Hey.  Iā€™m here today, and I want to give back to the incredible hospital that saved my life.ā€

You can donate to Chloe abseiling Anfield stadium here.

Find out more about the Anfield Abseil here.

For the latest news in Liverpool click here.

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