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My name is Sue and I am having my head shaved on 6th May 2017 at 12pm to raise money for Helen and Douglas House. Please take a moment to read my story and donate some money if you can.

On 6th May 2012 my daughter and son-in-law, Jo & Mark, had their first child, Charlie.  Jo and Mark had known that Charlie would need an operation when he was born. They scans had shown that Charlie had a blockage in his bowel that they had planned to rectify with surgery when Charlie was born.

Charlie has his operation when he was 48 hours old but things were worse than the scans could show.  Charlie was diagnosed with Short Gut Syndrome, he simply did not have enough functioning bowel to survive.

On 11th May 2012 Charlie was moved from the John Radcliffe Hospital to Helen House. Jo & Mark went with Charlie and this is where he received his end of life care. 

Helen House is the hospice for children with life shortening conditions. Douglas House is the hospice for young adults.

Helen House provided Charlie, Jo & Mark with outstanding care, ensuring that all of Charlie's care needs were met as well as taking any pressure off of day to day life for Jo & Mark.  They managed to facilitate Charlie coming home to Swindon for a few hours.  Jo & Mark had a bedsit to stay at Helen House with Charlie, although Charlie also had his own room where they staff would look after him if they needed a break.

On 23rd May 2012, at just 17 days old, Charlie passed away at Helen House. The care Jo & Mark received didn't stop then, they stayed there with Charlie until he was brought back to Swindon. Helen House provided counselling before and after Charlie's passing. Staff made the journey to Swindon to attend the funeral.  They hold memorial services every year which the family can attend.

Helen House could not have done any more during such a difficult time. They provided the medical care for Charlie, emotional support for the family, the cooking, the cleaning, even the washing, there was nothing that was too much trouble. 

Helen & Douglas House are run on donations so please take a moment to click and donate anything you can afford. You never know if you may need them, I know our family never expected to need a children's hospice.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.