Four-year-old suffering tonsillitis goes private after ice hockey fans raise a cool £5,000
A four year old from Telford was 'singing in the bath' on Thursday, just a day after having her tonsils out following a fundraising drive to send the little girl private.
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Billie McKenzie had began developing problems with her tonsils when she was just six months old.
After symptoms worsened, worried mum and dad, Clarice and Scott McKenzie, were told by their GP last year that their daughter could be looking at least a two-year wait to have her troublesome tonsils out.
The couple said they couldn't wait as their daughter slept next to a sick bowl every night because she was suffering choking episodes that caused her to gag and vomit.
Clarice told the Shropshire Star at the time: ““Her restless and disturbed sleep alongside poor hearing is causing poor concentration and poor behaviour. We were concerned this will begin to have effects on her education, development and confidence.
"We want to watch her enjoy being a young child and feel her medical issues are holding her back."
She said the pair had wanted to go private but didn't have the financial means, so had set up a Gofundme charity fundraiser to raise the £4,700 needed.
Billie's dad Scott plays ice hockey for Telford Tigers and is their highest ever British scorer, also appealed to fans of the game for help, who rallied round and within three weeks the McKenzie's had the relevant funds to pay for Billie to go private.
On Wednesday, Billie was taken to Nuffield Health hospital in Cambridge, where the St George's nursery pupil finally had her enlarged tonsils removed.
On Thursday, relieved Mum Clarice, said: "She is now singing in the bath!
"She went in on Wednesday at 7.30am and was discharged at 5pm."
She said most of the contributions donated to send Billie private had come from ice hockey fans.
"The ice hockey community have been fantastic and they helped us hit the target so quickly."
Thanking ice hockey fans on Twitter (X.com) dad Scott, said: "It was only about three weeks ago that we put a post out hoping to get somewhere close to £5k to help pay for Billie's surgery. Less than three weeks later, our Billie has had successful surgery."
