![\"Enzo\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_PXL_20260401_131602572.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEnzo Connolly was transferred to Edinburgh – 60 miles from home – after doctors in Dundee discovered a blockage in his bowel.<\/p>\n
Enzo has been in hospital for over a week after an operation.(Image: Edinburgh Live)<\/p>\n
A ‘frightened’ mum has warned how she was not being taken seriously by doctors before her seriously ill toddler was taken to a hospital 60 miles away for emergency surgery. Danni Connolly, 35, has opened up on her experience after son Enzo, two, required an operation to treat a blocked bowel at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n Enzo has been in and out of hospital<\/a> since he was born at 37 weeks when he showed signs of necrotising enterocolitis – a disease where part of the intestines becomes inflamed, damaged or dies. He was also diagnosed with sacral agenesis – a rare congenital disorder which affects the lower spine. In Enzo’s case, he is missing the last five bones in his back.<\/p>\n At just two days old, Enzo had his first operation to remove 10cm of his bowel. Two days later, he had his second to create a stoma. The tot also has a blood disorder and mobility issues.<\/p>\n However, when he became ill last month, Danni felt she had to fight to be heard when he wasn’t getting any better.<\/p>\n Speaking to our sister title Edinburgh Live<\/a>, Danni said: “I had known for about four weeks that something wasn\u2019t right with him. He was pulling at his [stoma] bags when normally he\u2019s perfect with them, screaming in pain and vomiting.<\/p>\n “They wouldn\u2019t do tests, they just palmed me off with stomach bugs or viral infections, until it came to a head the night before his birthday.”<\/p>\n Enzo was admitted to the family’s local hospital in Dundee<\/a> on Wednesday, March 25 where blood tests showed that his white cell count was extremely high. The blockage in his bowel was then discovered and Enzo was transferred to Edinburgh for surgery.<\/p>\n Danni said: “He was very, very unwell. The surgeon said to me he was glad Enzo came in when he did, because we could have been having an entirely different conversation.<\/p>\n “It was frightening because nobody would listen to me, and I know my son inside out.”<\/p>\n His condition has greatly improved since his surgery but it has still been a difficult time.<\/p>\n Danni said: “It\u2019s hard and draining, even though I\u2019ve been through it all before.<\/p>\n “Seeing him after surgery on Friday with the breathing tube in just gave me flashbacks to when he was in neonatal on a ventilator after he was born. He looked like a doll.”<\/p>\n The Edinburgh<\/a> Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) has provided support to Danni throughout Enzo’s stay at the hospital.<\/p>\n Around 3,800 youngsters are admitted to its surgical wards every year – over 10 a day – and the charity aims to make every visit as positive as can be.<\/p>\n This ranges from fun activities and support via youth work, to complementary therapy and time away from clinical settings to spend time as a family.<\/p>\n For Danni, it was a small thing that made the biggest impact. She added: “You just need someone to sit and listen when it\u2019s so mentally draining, and that’s what the charity has helped with.<\/p>\n “What these guys do is just second to none. Although this is very, very stressful, it\u2019s taken some of the stress away knowing someone is there at the end of a phone. The help we\u2019ve been shown is unbelievable.”<\/p>\n The charity is entirely independent from the NHS, and receives no government grants – meaning it is exclusively funded by donations.<\/p>\n Pippa Johnston, Deputy CEO of ECHC, said: “Every single day, 500 seriously ill children face a potentially life-changing hospital visit. And every day, with the help of our supporters, we can make those visits as positive as possible.<\/p>\n “Children tell us that coming to hospital can be frightening. Parents tell us they\u2019re sick with worry; they feel no one else is going through the same. Facing illness, and its impact, can be lonely and isolating.<\/p>\n “Right now, we can only reach 1 in 10 children that come through the doors of the hospital. We want to change this – to reach every family who needs us. But we rely solely on donations to be able to do this.”<\/p>\n More information about the charity can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n