Ruby White

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We have great pleasure in recognising Ruby White for her bravery and kindness. Ruby, in mum Melanie’s words “had a very tough start in life”. She was born 28 weeks premature, which meant that she had to stay on the special care baby unit at Wrexham Maelor hospital for 14 weeks. During that time, she nearly lost her life, she was extremely poorly and everyone feared she would not survive. Ruby’s mum has shared her story with us, telling us how she went to St Giles church to light a candle with the vicar there, say a prayer, and whilst there, she sent a message to Ruby “come on Ruby, pull your socks up”. Melanie thinks God was listening to that day, as within 48 hours Ruby started to pull through.

Ruby is now 13 years old and is in year 8 at St Josephs's school. She has Cerebral Palsy and has survived two large holes in her heart, pneumonia on many occasions, chronic lung disease, severe asthma and is nearly blind in one eye.

Over the years she has had lots of operations, endless hospital appointments and spent the first 5-6 years of her life in and out of the hospital. Ruby has been shielding during the pandemic and has felt so alone and isolated, not able to do the things she loves, not able to go to any groups such as riding at the Clwyd Special Riding school in LLanfynydd, where she loves to chat with the volunteers.

Despite all of these things, last christmas Ruby decided she wanted to bake cookies for the homeless. She bought all the ingredients with her pocket money, baked the cookies herself, and gave them to her mum to take for the homeless people.

Ruby suffers from anxiety, which the pandemic has made much worse and she was very anxious about going back to school. Happily, she had her 1st Covid vaccination in September and is now back at St Joseph’s school with her brilliant friends.

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Ruby is however facing another challenge this month as she is due to go into Alder Hey children’s hospital for another operation. Ruby’s mum tells us how Ruby is the most selfless, lovable little girl you could ever meet. She never moans or complains when she has to have all her treatments and medications and that she really
doesn’t realise how amazing she is.

We hope that by being the first recipient of our recognition award, for bravery and kindness, always thinking of others, Ruby will believe herself, that she is amazing too!