‘It was heart-warming just to know that people who had never met her wanted to help’
Sienna Rose arrives at Alder Hey Hospital by Ambulance(Image: Andrew Teebay)
The auntie of a brave toddler who united the hearts of the people of Merseyside has announced a new challenge to say “thank you” to the charity that supported them.
Amy McFadden, 35, was the founding force behind the massive emergency fund-raiser which saw people all over Britain come together in support of 19-month-old Sienna-Rose Millen, who suffered a brain haemorrhage in Mexico in March.
The brave toddler and her family, mum Natasha and dad Liam, were left stranded in hospital thousands of miles from their home in Croxteth – and had no idea how long they would be there for. That was until the generous people of Merseyside and beyond raised more than £15,000 to bring the family home on an emergency medical flight by charity Lia’s Wings.
Amy, who is engaged to Sienna’s mum’s brother, said: “At the time, with all the adrenaline flowing, it didn’t really hit me until after the fact. I knew how serious the situation was and I really felt for Tasha and her partner. I couldn’t even imagine what they were going through. I wanted to do anything I could to help and that’s what kept me busy at the time, rather than thinking about what was going on.
“It was disheartening how they were so far away when it happened, in a different country, and they weren’t home getting the care she deserved. When we initially brought up fundraising, we didn’t ever think we were going to raise so much.
“We thought she’d be out there until she was fit to fly back on a normal flight. At first, it was really just to support them while they were over there and not able to work.
“I never thought it would take off as it did. After a couple of days I thought no, we can do this. We can get her home. It was heart-warming just to know that people who had never met Sienna wanted to help.”
Sienna’s aunt Amy McFadden
An online fundraiser, started by Amy, raised more than £15,000 for Sienna’s cause. This meant Amy was able to reach out to Lia’s Wings, an air ambulance service for critically ill children. With their help, they were able to arrange a medical flight for Sienna, bringing her back to Liverpool on March 15.
Family and friends lined up outside Alder Hey Children’s Hospital with banners and balloons to welcome her home, and cheers rose up as the toddler was brought in by a private ambulance. Amy now hopes to raise at least £500 for the charity by taking part in a shark tank dive at Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port.
The event, organised by Lia’s Wings, challenges fund-raisers to brave the depths among rays, eels, and 10-foot-long sand tiger sharks. The mum of one said: “They were a massive support, especially to me. They donated money themselves to help get Sienna home faster, and they’re just a wonderful charity. I’ve never know anything like it.
“At the time, I was the one who phoned the embassy because I wanted to deal with that side of things so Tasha and Liam could focus wholly on Sienna, and didn’t have anything else to worry about. Then first thing the next day I phoned Lia’s Wings and I knew from the first conversation that these would be the people to get her home. I put all my trust in them.
“I had an intuition that they were the good guys and I just knew they were the ones who were going to get her home. It was such a complex situation and none of us could have ever sorted it out on our own. They knew exactly what they were doing and I put my trust in them.
“I just want to help as much as we can, because I’d hate for anyone else to be in the position our family was in.” Amy’s shark dive fund-raiser can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/amy-mcfadden-18