Toddler Ellie, who spent long hours under special lights out of fear she might become brain-damaged right after birth, has successfully completed her liver transplant after her and her family spent two years waiting with bated breath.

“Ellie’s operation took around seven hours to complete,” the voluntary organisation Puttinu Cares said in a jubilant post today.

“Ellie now has a new liver after two long years of waiting. Keep on praying for Ellie to recover,” Puttinu Cares continued. “Puttinu’s London apartment has been the home of Ellie and her family for two entire years. Imagine if you didn’t help Ellie in these moments. You believed that there was a serious need for accommodation. Now we will continue our appeal so that, together, we can help children like Ellie go to hospitals in the centre of London.”

Tests right after Ellie’s birth had confirmed that she had an enzyme missing and would need a liver transplant to survive – she had been diagnosed with Crigler-Najjar syndrome. “The Centre of London project is another miracle for Maltese and Gozitan patients,” Puttinu ended, in reference to the new facilities they were able to offer to Maltese families in need.