The mum of a disabled two-year-old who relies on oxygen 24 hours-a-day is raising money to help get an assistance dog for her little girl.

Brave Elodie-Rose Turner-Holland, who was born with a range of complex medical needs, has endured lengthy hospital stays and life-saving procedures that have left her with permanent lung damage.

But her parents are determined to give her the happy childhood she deserves.

Elodie-Rose was fitted with a feeding tube in her stomach at 11 months, after she was diagnosed with chromosome nine duplication - an extremely rare genetic abnormality which left her struggling to feed.

But in December, following routine surgery to have her tube replaced at a London hospital, something went very wrong.

A few days after the operation, the “chatty and lively” little girl fell gravely ill and was taken to the QEQM hospital in Margate .

She was placed in a coma, and rushed back to London.

“By this time she was in septic shock,” recalled Elodie-Rose’s mum, Tori Holland, of Forty Acres in Canterbury .

“She was double her size. She couldn’t breathe. She was really struggling.”

Doctors found Elodie-Rose’s bowel had been perforated by the feeding tube.

As Elodie-Rose struggled to breathe, medics were forced to ventilate her with high pressures.

“It saved her life but in turn gave her lung damage,” said Tori, 28. “But that was a choice we had to make.”

Sadly on Christmas Eve, the ventilation didn’t appear to be working, and Elodie-Rose was given extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

“It’s one of the most invasive procedures a child can endure,” said Tori. “It consists of a big pipe coming out of your neck and filtering the blood through a fake lung, and it being pumped back through your thigh in a cannula.

“She was fighting really really hard. But unfortunately it got to the point where she wasn’t responding and palliative care got involved.

“We had to plan her funeral and say our goodbyes.”

But at the last minute, as Elodie-Rose’s parents were preparing for the unthinkable, the treatment thankfully began working.

After several gruelling weeks in intensive care, the little girl was released onto a ward, and was finally taken off ECMO in February.

Elodie-Rose was discharged on March 27, but is still in and out of hospital.

Her treatment has left her with chronic lung disease and respiratory failure, and she now relies on oxygen 24/7.

Due to brain damage, she must be on a ventilator at all times while she sleeps, and a carer must watch over her to make sure she doesn’t vomit while wearing her breathing apparatus, and risk choking.

“It’s quite a lot, having people in your house seven nights a week,” said Tori.

“And your baby’s never going to be the same again.

“We thought the ventilator would be temporary. But she will have to be ventilated probably for the rest of her life.”

Elodie-Rose has sadly regressed recently, and is now mute. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and requires psychological help which will hopefully help her to regain speech.

Tori is separated from Elodie-Rose’s dad Steve, but they continue to work together to support their beloved little girl.

“I just want to make sure we have fun, and do lots of things with her,” she said.“I don’t want anything that’s happened to her to hold her back in life.”

Tori recently launched a fundraiser in hope of buying a specialised buggy big enough for transporting Elodie-Rose and her breathing equipment. It was a success, and raised the £1,500 needed.

But Tori hopes to continue raising funds to help make her daughter’s life as happy and comfortable as possible, and now hopes to raise £4,000 for an assistance dog.

As well as providing comfort for Elodie-Rose, it would be able to sense when she is about to have seizures, and warn her parents.

“It would also help with getting out and being playful with Elodie, and hopefully bringing back a bit of a spark to her,” said Tori.

Tori now plans to organise a range of fundraising events, including a sponsored walk from the London hospital where Elodie-Rose was treated to Canterbury next year.

“I want to make sure she is comfortable and that she still gets to enjoy life,” she said. “She hasn’t been able to enjoy her childhood so far at all.”

To donate, visit Elodie-Rose's Gofundme page .

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