Morrisons Worthing: Worthing supermarket joins Steyning shops and schools in supporting four-year-old’s Easter egg appeal for Great Ormond Street Hospital

A Steyning girl is collecting Easter eggs for Great Ormond Street Hospital after experiencing the joy of receiving one following major spinal surgery last year.
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Annabelle Tierney, four, was put in a halo vest system, attached to the skull with pins, and was feeling pretty down.

Mum Sophie Tierney was the only person allowed to be with Annabelle at the hospital in London due to Covid restrictions.

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Annabelle Tierney and her sister Florence at Morrisons in Worthing with some of the Easter eggsAnnabelle Tierney and her sister Florence at Morrisons in Worthing with some of the Easter eggs
Annabelle Tierney and her sister Florence at Morrisons in Worthing with some of the Easter eggs
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Sophie said: “We thought it would be just a neck brace. It was the end of the world for her. She couldn’t see her dad and she had a bit of a meltdown.

“It was a really bad day and then a nurse gave her an Easter egg and it just brought such a smile to her face. Something so simple and so small gave her a bit of hope and excitement to get better and go home.

“The area affected is right at the top. The vertebrae were getting too close to the spinal cord. It could have been fatal and in essence, they saved her life.”

Having experienced the joy first hand, Annabelle wanted to collect Easter eggs for the hospital this year and has already amassed 280, thanks to support from Steyning Primary School, where she is in reception, Beeding and Bramber Pre-School Playgroup, which her sister Florence attends, pubs and shops in Steyning.

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Morrisons in Worthing has also just set up a collection point, which will be open until March 15.

Sophie said: “We have been really inundated. She wanted to get 150 eggs and we thought that was a lot for a little girl to collect. It seems so small but it brings so much happiness to the children.

“After the operation, she had a metal halo frame screwed into her skull, like you see in the movies. It was the first time we had seen one in real life. She was in the frame for 12 weeks, so people recognise her.”

Annabelle, who will be five on Monday, had been under Great Ormond Street since she was six months old and was in the hospital for eight days after her spine operation in March 2021.

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Sophie said: “Because of Covid, they couldn’t have the playroom open, so they brought you a set of toys and they were yours. She came home with carrier bags of toys because they could not be reused.”

Annabelle was so grateful, she wanted to collect new toys for the hospital and a collection was organised in the run-up to Christmas.

Sophie said: “They have done so much for us. They also found she has a heart condition, so she will stay under Great Ormond Street and she will need open heart surgery eventually but she is stable at the moment. She is an absolute warrior.”

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