This week there was another story in the paper about a 17 month old baby who might have died. She, however, now seems set for a happy & healthy life
Ella-Grace was born with a condition which means she had leaky blood vessels in her brain
She was in obvious pain, & just before her first birthday her condition was diagnosed
It is a rare disease – about 5 cases a year in Britain. Her parents were advised that doctors in France had more experience in the surgery which she needed
The operation went well, but the French surgeon died, just 2 days later
The family went to the United States for more treatment, which basically involves injecting a kind of organic super glue to plug up the holes
All this cost more than £100,000, which was found with the help of local fundraisers
Ella-Grace had the great good fortune to be born to parents who could deal with this. It does not sound as if anybody ever ‘expressed concern’ about a baby with pain of unknown origin, or called in child protection services to investigate
No committees had to meet to agree a suitable care package
It is instructive that we know her name
She does not need the protection of privacy imposed by a court, because her story does not bring any shame
Baby P’s luck was very different. But it is his story which is all over the airwaves & the newsprint, treated as emblematic of the kind of society we have become
