Community rallies behind little warrior, Digby
Grateful family is holding a fundraiser for Children's Hospital Foundation on September 11, where they will auction off one of their bulls.
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AT NOT even two years old, a "very cheeky” and "resilient” Digby Phillips has shown he is a little warrior after being diagnosed with a syndrome so rare his mother was unable to find any other cases in Australia.
A now-healthy Digby was diagnosed with an auto- inflammatory condition known as PLAID syndrome (Phospholipase-C gamma2 Immune Dysregulation) when he was seven months old. This meant his body was unable to turn off the inflammatory process, causing multi-system organ inflammation, skin rashes, joint swelling, extreme gastrointestinal upset and periodic fevers.
"He's finally healthy again but still needs a daily injection to keep his symptoms at bay,” Digby's mum Heidi Phillips said.
"He's such a resilient child and just keeps trucking along.
"For all he's gone through in his short little life, it just blows me away when he still wakes up with a big smile every morning.”
Mrs Phillips said she became concerned when Digby became unwell and never got better.
"He wasn't responding to any treatments so we were transferred to Brisbane for care where Digby was diagnosed with PLAID syndrome just before his first birthday,” she said.
"The Children's Hospital Foundation were fantastic.
"Being away from home and not having any family or friends (nearby), they offered great support and had lots of different things for the kids to help pass the time, including books, play dough and bubbles.”
To raise money for the Children's Hospital Foundation and ongoing research for PLAID syndrome, Digby's family will hold a fundraiser at the Roma saleyards next month.
A bull, bred by their family, will be Lot 7 at the Heartland Santa Gertrudis Bull Sale, from noon on Sunday, September 11.
"We want to help other children and other families and hope they don't have to endure what we had to,” Mrs Phillips said.
"It was a really tough time for us, so we wanted to raise money to help find better diagnoses and treatment and hopefully shorten the exposure for other families.”
Mrs Phillips said she's been overwhelmed with the generosity of the community rallying behind the cause, including the breeders and auctioneers donating their commission back to the fundraiser.
"It's overwhelming to see that there's still so much kindness left in the world,” she said.
If you would like to donate, go to https://chf- community. everydayhero. com/au/ digby-s-destiny.
"We would like to thank everyone who has donated to Digby's Destiny, with a special mention to the employees and contractors at Origin Energy for their heart-warming contribution,” Mrs Phillips said.
Originally published as Community rallies behind little warrior, Digby