Charity award nomination for Bo'ness girl, 6, who bravely faced huge upheaval after brother born with rare genetic syndrome

Six-year-old Thea Nisbet was unable to see or meet her desperately ill little brother Troy for a whole six months after he was born in March 2021 during lockdown and now helps her mum and dad give him 24-hour care.

Thea helps by alerting her parents when she thinks Troy, now two, needs suction to clear his airways or swiftly running upstairs to bring swabs, and has coped with the adults around her being deeply stressed.

Troy had CHARGE syndrome, a complex condition affecting just one in 10,000 to 15,000 babies, which causes a host of physical disabilities. It’s meant Troy has needed three life-saving heart operations and a tracheostomy so he can breathe.

While he was in the paediatric intensive care unit at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, Thea spent six months living away from the family home in a room of the nearby Ronald McDonald House.

Now Thea is one of just three children who could be named Young Sibling of the Year at the Sense Awards later this month.

Her parents, Max, 36, and Kasia, 37, feel Thea has sometimes been “overlooked” because of the care her little brother needs, so they nominated her for a Sense Award to show her just how special she is to their family.

The Sense Awards has been running for 20 years and celebrates the achievements of people with complex disabilities and those that support them.

The charity received hundreds of nominations across the 13 award categories with a team of disabled celebrities, influencers and disability activists whittling them down to a shortlist of three entries for award.

Thea’s dad Max said: “Thea most definitely does not live a normal child’s life. She is an incredibly kind and loving sister, who is in some ways overlooked because of the amount of care her brother receives, and her mum Kasia and I want her to know just how much she means to us, her brother and her whole family.”

Speaking about the award nomination, Thea said: “I am feeling very excited about the award. I am a little shy but very proud. I love my little brother.

"I like it when he chases me and tries to tickle me. My favourite time I have with my brother is when we play hit the balloon to each other.”

Richard Kramer, chief executive of Sense, said: “A huge well done to Thea on being shortlisted for the Young Sibling of the Year Award. She is clearly a very loving big sister and we are delighted her family decided to nominate her for a Sense Award to show her just how much she means to them. I hope she feels very proud and enjoys the award ceremony.”

The awards ceremony will take place on November 23. To find out more about the awards visit www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards