She’s ‘brave and phenomenal’

She is just 11 years old, but Olivia Burgess has come up against more health challenges than most people face in a lifetime.

The courageous youngster has battled Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis as well as Pediatric Lupus, and just last year Olivia underwent eight-hour, open-heart surgery to save her life. Now she and her mom Traci want to help others.

Little Olivia Burgess has dealt with more than her fair share of medical challenges in her short life.

But this brave little 11-year-old is determined to make the best of the hand she has been dealt as well as do everything she can to help other families deal with serious illnesses.

At three-and-a-half, Olivia was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and just last year  was told she had Pediatric Lupus.

The overlapping conditions have meant she has learned to live with often-intense pain and restricted movement.

But nothing prepared her family for the sudden decline in her health last May that saw her airlifted off the island to undergo a lifesaving, eight-hour heart operation in Boston.

Upon arrival in the US, Olivia was put into a medically induced coma and doctors feared she might not survive the night.

But she did and miraculously even managed to make it back to Bermuda less than a month later on June 20 to attend Elliot Primary School’s P6 leaving ceremony.

Olivia told the Sun: “It was my last year of primary school.

“I just wanted to be there with my friends and have a good time.”

Her mom, Traci Burgess, said: “There have been times when I have been scared to death.

“When the doctors in Boston told me that they were going to have to operate, my knees literally buckled. I was so overwhelmed.

“But throughout everything Olivia has remained strong and brave.

“The last year-and-a-half especially has been very traumatic for us but she has been a shining light and remained positive.”

Olivia and her mom have been making regular trips to the Boston Children’s Hospital ever since she was first diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

And over time Olivia says she has learned to deal with the limitations that come with her condition.

She added: “It’s not always easy.

“At school I would see all the other children running and playing football and I could not join in.

“That was hard to deal with but it has got slightly easier as I have grown up.

“There have been times when I have been left screaming in pain.

“But I do things to take my mind off it now, like sketching and drawing.”

The youngster added: “Sometimes when I stop and think about it I wonder why I have these illnesses.

“But I believe everything happens for a reason.

“I still get upset because I am in pain but I want to make sure that something good comes out of this and I can do that by helping other people to deal with this kind of situation.

“I try to set an example and show people what can be done despite my condition.”

As for the future, Olivia is dreaming of a career as a vet, while her family is taking one day at a time.

She said: “There is no need to be afraid.

“You never know what is going to happen in the end.

“From everything that has happened I have learned that you never judge a book from its cover, because you never know what someone has gone through or is going through. And I think you can overcome anything and still follow your dreams.”

Mrs Burgess added: “We take one day at a time now.

“We are heading back to Boston again in June.

“But she is in a good place now. She is strong and brave and really is a phenomenal child.”