A Minster tot was taken to hospital after the tube used to feed her became dislodged.

Ezmae Catley, who suffers from epilepsy and brain damage, spent a week at St Thomas’s in London, having the vital equipment
reattached.

The 19-month-old from Minster Road also has a condition called dystonia, a neurological disorder that causes frequent muscle
contractions.

She will be nil-by-mouth for the rest of her life, as she is unable to suck or swallow.

It means a tube, which is fed through her tummy and joined to her bowel, provides her with fluids to keep her alive.

Her mother and full-time carer, Claire Morrish, 32, described how her daughter’s lifeline became disconnected on Saturday.

She said: “I picked her up from the car seat and heard a ‘pop’.

“I’d hoped it was one of the poppers on her baby grow, but the tube had dislodged from her bowel. I’ve been told it’s a common thing, but that didn’t make me feel any better.”

Miss Morrish, who also has a teenage son, said that it took nearly 30 attempts to fit a cannula to Ezmae in order to feed her intravenously.

She was given a priority operation on Wednesday for the permanent tube to be reconnected.

“She wasn’t in any pain and she’s as fine as she can be,” Miss Morrish said.

A series of fundraisers have been held this year to help provide Ezmae with the equipment she needs to support her for the rest of her life.

The £5,000 collected so far will go towards wheelchair accessories and an adapted bike so Ezmae can go cycling.

A Ladies Night – date and place to be announced – is planned for later this year to add to the fund.

Miss Morrish and her partner David Catley, 39, have found a unique way of putting a
positive spin on their child’s many ordeals.

She said: “It might sound strange, but we’ve got a memories box where we keep things like Ezmae’s hospital wristbands.

“I hope one day she can progress to a point when she can look into everything she went through as a baby.”

For more information, search Ezmae’s Fundraising on Facebook.