Mila Sneddon's family reflect on isolation, recovery and meeting Kate, Princess of Wales

Five years have passed since Mila Sneddon was separated from her dad by a pane of glass.

Living with leukemia and receiving chemotherapy during the coronavirus pandemic, she had a weakened immune system and was particularly susceptible to the virus.

Her dad, Scott, initially had to keep working during Covid and decided to move out of the family home to protect his daughter from the virus.

They spoke through the kitchen window and gave each other air hugs.

Reflecting on that difficult time, Mila’s mum Lynda told STV News: “I don’t regret a second of it. It was done with the best intentions to keep Mila safe from viruses, or potentially what the impact would have been if she caught Covid.

“It was unusual. We were in a very unknown set of circumstances as a family so we were grateful that we had things like FaceTime and Scott was able to come up and see us through the window as well.”

Mila, now aged nine, enjoys hanging out with her friends, going on road trips and holidays in hot weather.

“I don’t like the cold. I also like liked playing with my dog, Luna,” she told STV News. “I go to dancing and brownies. Dancing is fun and I like that I’m getting more flexible.”

For the family it’s a far cry from those dark days at the start of the pandemic.

“It feels like it’s almost a lifetime ago since lockdown,” said Lynda. “I can’t quite believe it’s five years. We’ve been able to take stock of Mila’s journey through treatment and where we are now as a family as well.

“I’m very proud of all of us for getting through what was a really difficult time.”

Scott was finally reunited with his daughter after being placed on furlough.

That allowed him to go into a period of isolation and he was finally given the all-clear to move back home.

Footage of the special moment, which was broadcast on STV News, showed Scott arriving at the house and saying: “I’m going to come home today.”

“It was a joyful time when I came back,” said Scott. “I think it was harder for Mila and Lynda being here.

“I had moved in with her parents for those seven weeks and I was up just about every night, bringing shopping or just to see them through the window.”

Explaining the situation to Mila, Lynda said the television crews were at the house because “it was quite an unusual event”.

He added: “We had never been in that situation before, certainly not in my lifetime or yours and people were interested to see your story.”

Speaking to STV News five years on from lockdown, Mila asked her mum why she didn’t also self-isolate.

Lynda responded: “Well, we had to stay here because you were shielding. Initially, we were told you had to shield for 12 weeks and that very quickly turned into five-and-a-half months of being at home and only leaving to go to the hospital, so it was an incredibly long time.”

Mila, from Stenhousemuir, has been in remission since 2022 but is still dealing with a few health challenges. Despite that, her mum says she is doing really well at school.

“Mila was only four years old when she was diagnosed and when we went into lockdown, so five years on she has a better understanding of the condition she had,” said Lynda.

“Part of her life has been Covid and the restrictions that was put on her and us as a family.

“That was pretty much the norm for those early years experiences and she understands why we did what we did. Now we are navigating the next part of that journey.

“I think inevitably lockdown changed a lot of things for us as a family. We’re much closer. How we work as well, particularly my work and Jodie’s work, we do a lot more remotely.”

Lockdown was also extremely challenging for Mila’s sister Jodie, who was sitting her final exams at high school and hoping to go to university.

Jodie said: “All the unknown with Mila’s situation meant I had to move out for a while, so I wasn’t in my own space and couldn’t spend a lot of time with friends.

“I feel like I missed out on some of the experiences that people of 15, 16 get. When I did finally start university, I feel I stole those years back. It’s a bit of a delayed experience but I got there in the end.”

Mila is just happy that she gets to see all her friends at school, some of whom ask if she is famous after she was on TV and met the Princess of Wales during the pandemic when her picture was included in Kate’s photography project.

“I was really happy to meet Kate,” said Mila. “Now we are like best friends, I know her very well now. All thanks to a picture.

“I’m very happy I got the chance to meet her because not many people get the chance to meet her, so I’m really happy I got picked too. We got a Christmas card from her last year.”