A Moray teenager is facing an agonising wait for a new liver as her life-threatening condition worsens every day.
Millie Nicoll was placed at the top of the waiting list for a liver transplant in July, but is still awaiting the operation that could turn her life around.
The 15-year-old is frequently rushed to London for emergency treatment, and has been unable to take part in her favourite hobbies for years.
But she has turned her attention to other activities and to helping others facing battles with illness.
The Scottish Government has pledged to enforce a “soft opt out” system of organ donation, where organs will be taken from people unless they have formally objected to the procedure or their families oppose it.
Holyrood ministers have so far however been unable to advise on when the new procedures will come into play.
Millie says that a solution to her predicament cannot come soon enough, as the energy-draining affliction makes completing even the simplest of tasks a chore.
The Speyside High School pupil said: “I feel myself getting worse every day.
“Every time the phone rings I think it could be the call that changes my life.”
Millie was born with Biliary Atresia, an illness which damages the liver by causing bile ducts in the organ to become blocked.
She required a lifesaving operation when she was just six weeks old, which was designed to act as a temporary solution but could not stop her liver scarring as she grew up.
When she entered her early teens, she was forced to give up horse riding, netball and tennis for fear the activities could cause it to rupture and must watch from the sidelines as her classmates do PE
And because she easily tires, she rarely goes out anymore.
Millie’s frustrations have been compounded recently, as her worsening condition has caused her to slip behind academically as well.
Millie said: “The toxins that my liver isn’t removing are affecting my brain function, and that makes studying difficult as I struggle to concentrate and to process information.
“I like maths and geography, and I want to be a nurse in a paediatric intensive care unit.
“I was doing really well in my first two years at secondary school, but over the last year my grades have completely dropped to the other end of the scale and that’s really frustrating.
“The illness I have is holding me back from achieving as much as I could.”
“That operation would be the beginning of a new life for me.”
Millie lives with her 10-year-old sister Emma, three-year-old brother Jake, mum Ruth Howard and step-dad Steven Howard.
Mrs Howard said: “A transplant operation would give Millie her life back, and make a big difference for the whole family.”