Midlothian girl with rare birth defect gifted family holiday of a lifetime after losing dad
The family say the holiday is “an enormous piece of happiness when we needed it most”
The family of seven-year-old Ava Nickolson, who was born with a complex medical condition, have endured “the hardest and most heartbreaking years of our lives” after she lost her dad on her seventh birthday.
But a free holiday has given the young Midlothian family a reason to smile again after members of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes raised funds to give them a 10-day holiday of a lifetime in Cyprus.
The family say they are lost for words by the generosity shown to them, giving Ava the opportunity to “simply be a little girl” away from “her medical challenges and the heartbreak she has endured defining every moment of her life”.
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Ava was born in 2019 with her internal organs outside of her body and a large hole in her stomach because of a rare birth defect called giant gastroschisis and other serious conditions.
The defect left parents Brian, better known as Brizzy, and Amanda constantly ferrying her to Edinburgh’s Sick Kids for a series of long and painful surgeries.
A chance meeting between Brian and Buffaloes member Eddie Irvine inspired the group’s lodge in Newtongrange to take them under their wing and help them out with things like travelling costs and Christmas presents.
But the family, which also includes Ava’s siblings Ellie, 11, registered young carer Callum, 14, and one-year-old Daniel, were dealt an unimaginable blow in May when Brian suddenly died.
Eddie said: “I went to the funeral. It was heart-breaking for an adult but for a wee one like Ava who was supposed to be celebrating and having fun like a seven-year-old should do to lose her dad.”
The Buffs, described by Eddie as a smaller, less formal version of the Masons, immediately started fundraising to send Ava and her family to Cyprus for a 10-day holiday.
Compelled by the family's story, people donated in their droves as the group travelled to different lodges around the country, selling everything from a knitted Paddington Bear to trading cars to raise just over £4,250.
Their Cyprus lodge, meanwhile, covered the cost of flights, their villa, hire car and days out.
Speaking on behalf of the family, mum Amanda’s aunt said: “We have watched our family struggle with grief, heartache and challenges that at times have felt almost impossible to overcome. And then, out of nowhere, along came a group of extraordinary people who, despite not knowing us personally, decided they wanted to bring some happiness back into our lives.
“To every single person who has donated, organised, supported or played even the smallest part in making this possible, please know that you have made a difference far greater than you could ever imagine.
“Two little words that will never seem enough to express the gratitude we feel.
“You may think you’ve simply given a family a holiday of a lifetime, but what you’ve really given us is an enormous piece of happiness when we needed it most.”
Eddie added: “We can’t take away what’s happened and the pain they’ve had to endure. Ava’s still got a lot of surgeries to go through but all we can do is give them a wee bit of respite.”