A “one-of-a-kind” little girl who was born with a rare illness is continuing to give back despite her condition now requiring her to use a wheelchair.
Poppy-mae Jones, nine, from Ellesmere Port , has suffered from a bowel condition since birth and experiences excruciating stomach pain every day. In March 2020, Poppy-mae had to undergo a major operation, called a colectomy, at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, which involved having her large colon removed.
She also had an ileostomy fitted to her small intestine, meaning that her small bowel is now diverted through an opening in her stomach, and a special bag has been attached to collect waste products. Doctors hoped the operation would help with Poppy-mae’s pain however her mum, Sharon, says that the condition can still sometimes be “debilitating”.
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Sharon told the ECHO : “Poppy has suffered since she was a baby with bowel issues. It’s obviously really hard to diagnose bowel issues at any age but especially as a child. She also suffers with joint hypermobility and has limited movement in her hips and legs and gets a lot of pain.
“As she’s gotten older and her bones are growing, things aren’t getting better. They’re actually getting worse.”
Two years ago, the family were told by a physiotherapist that using a wheelchair might be beneficial for Poppy-mae when she was particularly struggling, however a barrage of negative comments online stopped the family from pursuing the option until last month.
Sharon said: “Unfortunately there were a lot of negative comments made over it and it really upset her, as well as me and her dad. Poppy has a lot of involvement in her Facebook page and likes to read the comments. We obviously try and shield her from negative remarks but that’s not always possible. We’ve been managing without but obviously, as she’s getting older, I can’t carry her in the same way I did when she was little.
“People said things like ‘she’s just climbed up the stairs, why would she need a wheelchair’ which is why we put it off for so long. She did have physical therapy and hydrotherapy and we encourage her to keep active and exercise but there’s times when I pick her up from school and she physically can’t walk because she’s been active all day.”
Although Poppy-mae’s parents are keen for her to stay active, the family has already seen the benefits of using the wheelchair.
Sharon said: “We use it on occasion. Me and her went to London recently for my birthday so we took the wheelchair with us which was an actual godsend for her because she was able to enjoy going around without thinking she could only go so far as she couldn’t walk.”
Despite Poppy-mae’s symptoms becoming increasingly problematic, the nine-year-old is determined to continue to raise money for both Alder Hey and Chester Hospital.
Last year, Poppy spent two days "climbing Snowden" by climbing the stairs in her house, with her fundraising exploits having raised more than £12k over the last few years.
Sharon said: “She started fundraising by doing walks when she was five and her joints weren’t as bad. Anyone who suffers with joint pain or muscle pain will know you can have really good days where you feel no pain whatsoever but you can also have really debilitating days where you can’t even pick up a pen without it hurting.
"Obviously, the difference with a child is that they haven’t learned their limitations yet. Poppy is a very stubborn little girl so when she sets her mind to something, she’ll push and push even though she suffers. She’s such a people pleaser that she wants to help others even though she might be suffering.”
She added: “We were talking about doing something less physical with our local Morrisons where Poppy sat in a bath of beans so that might be one for the future. We’ve also spoken about maybe doing something incorporating her wheelchair.”
Last week, Poppy-mae launched her six weeks of summer raffle, which involved auctioning off a number of prizes and experiences to raise money for charity. In recognition of her courageous fundraising efforts, Poppy-mae was awarded a Liverpool ECHO award in 2020 and was nominated at this year’s Child of Britain Awards.
And Sharon couldn’t be any prouder of her “sassy, inspirational, one-of-a-kind” little girl.
She told the ECHO: “Poppy’s got a lot of followers and supporters. She’s really well-known in Ellesmere Port. We’re so proud of her.
"It's obviously not something you’d wish up on a child, you don't want them to suffer even if its just with a cold or chickenpox but she’s smashed it. She’s definitely inspired me a lot.”
You can find out more about Poppy-mae here.
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