Doll girl born with no vagina desperate for life-changing operation that will allow her a 'normal life'

An eight-year-old girl born with two wombs who is unable to use the toilet and has no vagina is desperate for an incredible operation which could change her life.

Poppy Wadsworth was born with an rare condition called cloaca, which is when the rectum, vagina and urethra share a common channel.

Instead of going to the toilet like her friend she has had a stoma bag from birth which takes away her waste.

Her one functioning kidney does not work properly and she is permanently on antibiotics to fight infections.


Now a surgeon in America has promised to make her a vagina, reshape her bladder and give her working kidneys while removing one of her wombs and giving her a “button” to let her to ‘flush’ her bowel with saline every day.

Her mum Alison is trying to raise £50,000 towards the operation – the other half of the cost is being paid by the hospital as she such a rare case.

Alison, who has another son James, 15, had no idea what was wrong when doctors whisked Poppy away soon after she was born.

She said: “It was a seven-minute birth, then they whisked her off for a bath and delivered her back to me wrapped in a pink blanket.

“I didn’t notice anything.

“It was only 24 hours after Poppy was born they realised there was a problem.

“She was like a doll, they had to do blood tests to determine if she was male or female.

“The doctors said, ‘don’t worry, she will still be your little girl’.

“Because she had problems with her bowels, they operated straight away and put a stoma in.”


Alison, who lives in Upper Poppleton in York, says she tries her best to help Poppy feel like any other little girl.
She said: “I explained her condition by saying she is like a doll. I even got her a teddy with a stoma.

“When she went to school for the first time a couple of boys said, ‘Eww, are you wearing a nappy?’ They could see she was wearing something bulky under her clothes.

“We told the school about her stoma and explained what it was. They explained to the other pupils and now they have all accepted her for who she is.

“A couple of kids are even jealous because she’s ‘special’.

“I tell her she’s lucky because, when she’s playing in the park with her friends, she doesn’t need to go in a bush if she needs the loo.”

Cloaca occurs in 1 per 50,000 live births and exclusively in girls.

Doctors in the UK have operated on Poppy to make her life as normal as possible, but now they can do no more.

But so unusual is the severity of Poppy’s condition that a hospital in America has agreed to pay half the cost of an operation that could change her life, so they can study her for research purposes.

A specialist surgeon in Ohio, Mark Levett, would operate on Poppy to allow her to use the toilet normally and maybe have children one day. The total cost is £100,000, and Alison has so far raised £36,000 of her £50,000 contribution.

Alison, 45, said: “I asked the surgeon at least three times during our conference call: ‘Can you fix her?’

“Yes, I can fix her,’ he said.

“He said he can make her a vagina, reshape her bladder and give her working kidneys.

“He will also remove one of her wombs.

“She will have a button that allows her to ‘flush’ her bowel with saline every day.”

Alison, who works as a self-employed hairdresser so she has flexible hours, has been fundraising tirelessly since March for Poppy’s life-changing operation.

She said: “People have been doing sponsored walks and bake sales. We have organised a sports evening and a country music festival. Local schools have organised dress down days.

“Poppy has been involved too. We set up ‘Poppy’s Boutique’ in our village with some of her old clothes and designer gear donated by other people.

“We’ve raised £36,000 since March and now have £14,000 to go before we can book in the surgery.”
If the operation is successful, it’s possible that Poppy may be able to conceive in future – but sufferers often find it difficult to carry a baby.

Alison said: “If she has kids she wouldn’t be able to give birth naturally. She would need to be induced and have a caesarean.

“We will cross that bridge when we get there.

“She never gets upset. It’s almost like she already knows what her future will be.

“We might be watching something on TV, like Corrie, where one of the female characters is desperate for a child.

“And she’ll say, ‘Why don’t they just adopt? I’ll adopt when I’m grown up’.

“She’s very positive.

“She says that when she has the op she will be able to do everything that any other little girl can do.”

To help Poppy visit JustGiving.com/Alison-Wadsworth .