After two Christmases spent in hospital, a London family dares to dream of celebrating the festive season at home, thanks to a life-saving liver transplant from mother to daughter and the dedicated care of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
A Mother's Ultimate Gift
Two-year-old Ruby McCann, who stars in this year's Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity Christmas advert, was born with an exceptionally rare metabolic condition known as PMM2-CDG. Her mother, Elle Daniel, 35, did not hesitate to donate part of her own liver when Ruby's health deteriorated earlier this year. "I held my hand up immediately to be a donor. As her mum, I didn't hesitate," Elle recalls.
The successful transplant in June 2024 marked a turning point. "Almost immediately she began to gain weight and become more robust," says Elle. "Her cognitive development has come on too, and she's started to sit up for the first time." This medical miracle has given the family renewed hope that Ruby might finally be well enough to leave the hospital and spend Christmas at their home in Highbury, north London.
A Life Spent in Hospital
Ruby's journey has been extraordinarily difficult. In her short life, she has spent more than 700 days as a patient, predominantly at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Her condition, PMM2-CDG, affects only around 1,000 people worldwide and causes proteins in the body to malfunction, leading to a range of complications including organ dysfunction.
The first signs of trouble emerged soon after her birth in November 2022, when she failed to put on weight. At just eight weeks old, an ultrasound revealed excess fluid around her heart and abnormalities with her liver and kidneys, leading to an emergency blue-light transfer to GOSH. "'She's very ill' the doctors told us, when we asked if our baby would live," her mother remembers. Ruby's first Christmas was spent in a hospital ward.
A Shining Star and a Family's Hope
Despite the challenges, Ruby's spirit shines through, something captured perfectly in the GOSH Charity's festive appeal film. Her father, Steve McCann, 43, was deeply moved seeing his daughter on screen. "I couldn't be more proud, I was moved to tears," he said. "Ruby has been moments from death many times in the last two years, so to see her shining brightly was a joy."
The family is full of praise for the hospital staff and the GOSH Charity, which has provided not just medical care but also play teams, chaplaincy support, and hospital accommodation. "Some days having a sick child feels like being in a war," Steve admits, "and at every step of the way, they are there providing support."
While Ruby is still non-verbal and fed via a tube, the future looks brighter. For Elle and Steve, the greatest Christmas gift would be a simple one: having their daughter home. "There's a chance she'll be able to come home for Christmas," Elle says. "And if that chance becomes a reality, it will be the greatest gift we could ever imagine."
