William Kilpatrick (14) from Castlemilk has won ‘Young Achiever’ at the Scottish Children’s Health Awards 2023.
The Scottish Children’s Health Awards exist to celebrate courageous children, and those who are making a difference to their health and wellbeing. The Young Achiever trophy is for a child who has shown great determination and kept going, when it might have been so much easier to give up.
An ongoing patient at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, William, has a rare congenital heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot, Di-George syndrome, and Autism. William spent the first three years of his life in and out of Yorkhill Hospital regularly and, before he was four years old, he had four major heart surgeries, including open heart.
William was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot while in the womb at 27 weeks. This rare congenital heart disease consists of the following defects: pulmonary valve stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, and atrial septal defect. When he was born, William required a shunt to replace a heart valve. Since then, William has had five further heart surgeries – in addition to various other surgeries – and was fitted with a pacemaker in July 2023.
William’s mum, Kat Waddell, explained that there is a huge amount of medical care that goes on in the day-to-day to keep William alive and well, including regular appointments and procedures at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.
“The care goes further than heart surgeries. We need to protect William’s immune system and keep him as stable as we can. He is very prone to infections which can have a significant impact on his health. There have been times where we have been in hospital for at least three months to recover, most recently from endocarditis, which is inflammation of the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves.
“The team at the Royal Hospital for Children have become like family and a huge support network for me over the years. I am so grateful for everything that they do. William calls the nurses and doctors his aunties and uncles. There have been times where we haven’t had appointments and William has requested to go to the hospital for a visit.
“When William was in the womb, and the doctors shared the news of his heart, I decided to give him a name that represented how brave he needed to be. I named him after William Wallace as he is my Braveheart. He lives up to his name every day and that’s why I am so proud and delighted that he has won this award. When he was told that he won, he was so bashful but full of smiles. He is ecstatic,” said Kat.
Like most teenagers, William attends school and loves playing his X-Box. He is preparing to go into fourth year with ambitions to be a police officer when he is older. He loves going to musicals with his mum and baking, often bringing in cinnamon swirls for the nurses and doctors. But, most of all, he enjoys pranking them and making them laugh.
Wendy McKechnie, Health Play Assistant at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde explained why she nominated William for the award.
“Despite the ongoing challenges he has faced since birth, and will continue to face throughout life, William smiles every day and lights up any room he walks into with his energetic personality. The determination that he has, the approach he takes to every day, and the joy that he brings lights up the full ward. He is fantastic with other kids in the ward too and helps them also. The full team at Royal Hospital for Children are over the moon that he has won. He is our superstar,” said Wendy.
