From Russia with love for Ciaran
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EATING is a part of daily life that most children take for granted and enjoy – but for 10-year-old Ciaran Gilchrist it can cause chronic illness.
The Aberlour Primary School youngster suffers from the rare condition Eosinophilic Eosophagitis (EE), which means many foods have the potential to make him seriously ill.
For Ciaran, nausea, poor weight gain, difficulty swallowing, headaches and tiredness are a constant in his life.
An operation a few years ago alleviated the condition which caused him to be violently sick, up to 30 times an hour as a young child, and also meant even breathing in airborne substances could make him dreadfully ill.
However, for parents Clare and Adam, watching what Ciaran eats is essential to his wellbeing.
Ciaran now has to be fed overnight through a tube in his stomach to ensure he gets the right balance of nutrients and vitamins into his system.
However, that 12-hour feed leaves him drained and often unable to attend school, and unable to take part in the full range of physical activies of other children his age, although he loves swimming.
Despite all of that, Ciaran lives life to the full and it was his ingenuity which saw Russian culture come to the primary this week.
Ciaran’s letter to the Russian consulate prompted a phone call to the youngster which in turn led to a special visit on Monday.
Elena Reid, chair of The Highland-Russia Connection charity, gave the children a glimpse into life in her homeland, which touched on space exploration, language, customs, and the weather.
Ciaran had written to the Russian consulate in Edinburgh after his class did a project on clothing and Fair Trade products, and he chose Russia.
Mrs Reid, who is originally from Siberia but now lives in Nairn, was contacted by the Russian officials and a visit to the school was arranged. She receives funding from the state-sponsored Russkiy Mir Foundation to promote Russian culture in the North of Scotland.
The visit came ahead of the latest in a regular series of operations Ciaran has to undergo – up to six a year – to monitor his condition.
His mum Clare admitted the Russian visit had given the youngster a massive boost as he continues to battle with the condition.
Mrs Gilchrist said: "Some mornings it is horrendous trying to get him to school he feels so sick, but today he was wide awake and excited because this was something different to look forward to.
"He was totally over the moon when he got the phone call from the Russian Consulate. The school hands out Oscars to pupils who have done good things and Ciaran got an Oscar for writing the letter which was done through his own initiative."
Ciaran, who has a younger sister Rebecca (7) also at Aberlour Primary, and an older brother Alistair (21), takes a range of drugs to control the condition.
Mrs Gilchrist became aware very soon after Ciaran was born that he had a serious problem with food but it wasn’t until he was six years old that the condition was fully diagnosed.
He undergoes camera investigations and biopsies every 12 weeks at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, and the family are also hoping to travel to Leeds where more specialist treatment for his condition may be available.
The family, who live in Rothes, are only aware of one other child in Scotland with the condition, although there may be more, and just a handful in the UK. The main centre of specialism into the condition is in Cincinnatti.
