THE mother of the first Kidderminster child to receive a liver transplant has told of a month-long ordeal which saw doctors race to save her daughter's life.

Teresa Wright said she "still shakes" when talking about the sudden onset of Wilson's Disease in her 12-year-old daughter Charley, and of the agonising wait for a donor.

She said the 24-hour period which began on Thursday, December 12 when Charley was placed on the "super urgent" list for a donor, which usually means patients have 48 hours to live, was a "mind blowing" experience.

Mrs Wright said: "We were told on the Thursday that she was on 'super urgent'. Ten minutes later they had a liver.

"Super urgent means the donor could come from an adult, which was worrying for us as it could be rejected. We didn't sleep that night. the Wright family, mum Teresa, four-year-old daughter Billie, dad Tony and Charley.

"Charley went into surgery the next day for seven and a half hours. We sat outside the theatre, waiting for doctors to tell us how it was going."

Surgeons at Birmingham Children's Hospital let out a cheer when the new liver turned a healthy pink once in place, said Mrs Wright. She was later told the organ came from a teenager and that the operation was the first time anyone from the Wyre Forest area had undergone a liver transplant.

It marked the end of an agonising four weeks for Mrs Wright, plasterer husband Tony and youngest daughter Billie, five, which began with Charley complaining of stomach pains on November 15 and ended with her coming home on Christmas Eve.

Mrs Wright, 32, said: "The weeks leading up to the operation were very difficult for us, the doctors didn't know what exactly was wrong. It was only afterwards they knew it was Wilson's Disease - I was told a gasp went around the theatre when they saw the state of the liver."

Now the family, of Marlpool Place, is working to raise about £1,800 to send brave Charley, a pupil at Franche Middle School, to America to fulfil her dream of swimming with dolphins.

Mrs Wright, 32, said: "We want to send her to Florida next year - it has always been her dream to swim with dolphins. We will hold a welcome home party for Charley which will help fund the trip.

"My husband and I have raised £1,000 for Birmingham Children's hospital - we are so thankful for all they did."

Mrs Wright said the experience has changed the family forever.

She said: "We all live for today now. Before I would worry about things like bills - you never think something like this could happen to you.

"Charley was very brave and has been the calmest out of all of us since this began. She is very special."

'Genetic disorder'

WILSON'S Disease is a genetic disorder - sufferers cannot excrete copper once it has accumulated in the liver.

Copper is an essential vitamin present in most foods but can be poisonous if the body cannot get rid of it fast enough.

According to the Wilson's Disease Association, cases are "always fatal if not diagnosed and treated".

The association adds that "most patients have no family history of Wilson's Disease."

The disease affects approximately one in 30,000 people worldwide.