Rafe was born in January 2022, and unbeknown to anyone until his birth, he had complications that required him to stay in NICU for 9 weeks to help him breathe independently.

Rafe was born with hypotonia (muscle weakness), making him unable to feed independently. He has required an NG tube for feeding throughout his life. He also suffers from severe chest infections, and to date, he has had six admissions to HDU due to RSV and pneumonia.

We still don’t have a diagnosis for Rafe, but we know he is a very bright boy with the ability to achieve amazing things with the right help and support to reach his goals. Cognitively, Rafe is close to meeting his milestones, but his physical disabilities cause him a lot of frustration. To help him, we are working to provide a more intensive therapy program to enable him to achieve his full potential.

Currently, we are fundraising for a hydrotherapy pool since there is very limited funding for this through the NHS. Rafe has completed his six NHS-provided sessions. Hydrotherapy is incredibly beneficial for strengthening and improving muscle tone, which is essential for Rafe. His hypotonia affects his mobility, leaving him unable to walk, and this is a source of frustration for him.

As a family, we are fully dedicated to supporting Rafe, as we have been for the past two years. We simply need the right equipment to continue giving him the best possible support.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.