THE mother of a terminally ill girl who is set to be featured on a BBC documentary next month has told how she and her daughter wept when they saw the finished programme.

The story of 12-year-old Abingdon schoolgirl Leah Graham, who has cystic fibrosis, is one of four to be featured on a documentary about the families and guests of East Oxford hospice Helen & Douglas House, called The Children of Helen House Revisited.

After much discussion, the family agreed to allow cameras into their homes, following Leah in and out of hospital, at home, and at visits to the respite hospice over three months last year.

Her mother, Selina Jeacock, 35, said: “It was very draining emotionally and there were points when I thought I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it because you let the world into your soul.

“Leah and I watched it together and we both sat and cried. Seeing yourself telling the story and seeing your emotions is really difficult.”

Leah, a pupil at Fitzharry’s School in Abingdon, was diagnosed when she was three months old and has been receiving respite care from Helen & Douglas House since she was four.

Her condition requires two rounds of physiotherapy every day and to be admitted to hospital for intravenous medication up to every six weeks.

While the average life expectancy for someone with cystic fibrosis is 30, Leah’s condition is more advanced and it is unlikely she will survive to that age.

As well as showing Miss Jeacock and her fiancee Malcolm Watts care for Leah and their other four children, who are aged between two and 15, the couple also talked about the loss of their son Kai, who died when he was only 28 hours old.

Miss Jeacock said: “It was very emotional and tiring. There were a couple of times when I said I couldn’t do it and enough’s enough, but then I decided ‘no, it has got to be done’.

“I wanted to show people what it was like and how emotional and draining it gets and what it is like to live with someone who is quite poorly and what it is like to have lost a child. I didn’t do it for people to feel sorry for us, but so they can try to understand.”

Miss Jeacock said she drew strength from her daughter and said: “She’s my little inspiration.

“The chances of her getting past her teens is small, but there is always hope with transplants and that kind of thing.

“We do have a laugh sometimes when she’s having a low day and I will say ‘come on lets’s have a look at eBay or let’s go to the shop and buy a new heart and lungs’, but overall she’s doing okay.”

The Children of Helen House Revisited is on BBC2 on Thursday, April 2, at 9pm.

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