Plucky Terri recovers after op

PLUCKY Terri Calvesbert is today recovering after having undergone yet another operation to reconstruct her fire-ravaged body.

The six-year-old burns victim, whose courageous story has touched the hearts of the nation since the Evening Star championed her cause, went under the knife at the special burns unit at Broomfield Hospital on Wednesday.

During the five-hour operation at the Chelmsford hospital her right foot was straightened to allow her to walk more easily and dealing with her right eye and top lip, skin which had become tight after previous reconstructive surgery, was "released".

"They're back to their normal shape now," said her doting dad Paul, 29. "She's had 16 major operations but this one was fairly routine.

"Everything went perfectly right, it was all very straightforward and there were no problems."

Hospital volunteer Mr Calvesbert, who lives with Terri in the Whitton area, said that she was a little uncomfortable after the op and is now in a wheelchair while she recovers from the surgery to her foot.

"She can't eat anything for the next couple of days to avoid infection on her lip but apart from that she's her normal self.

"She's quite happy to be pushed around in the play room in the children's ward in her wheelchair."

Mr Calvesbert that his daughter, who was horrifically burned as a baby in a house fire five years ago, is expected to be in the ward for the next three weeks.

"It depends on how she recovers – it could be sooner," he added.

* If you would like to contribute to the Terri Calvesbert Appeal, which has so far raised £160,000, you can send cheques - made payable to the Terri Calvesbert Appeal – to Geraldine Thompson, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN.