It was a complete shock when Matthew died on June 20th 2007. He was just 9 years old.

He died as a result of a late diagnosed appendicitis. At first, his symptoms were like a typical tummy bug - except that he didn't get better. He was admitted to hospital after several days to further investigate what was wrong, and his appendix was removed. But the operation came too late, and he died 4 days later.

Appendicitis is difficult to diagnose - especially in children. We have no complaints about the medical care Matthew received, and we want to stop this happening to any other family. So now we need your help to raise funds and to raise awareness so that we can get into action with a clinical research programme to work towards the development of a diagnostic tool for appendicitis in children.

Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of emergency surgery in children because it is difficult to diagnose. If diagnosis is delayed beyond 48 hours the perforation rate increases from 21% to 71% of cases, which also increases the rate of complications.

Here we are in happier times - Matty with me and his older brother, Liam. We are determined to ensure that no other family goes through the loss that we have suffered. That’s why we need your help. Please donate whatever you can to support the project team that is working on this.

We have already undertaken a successful feasibility study at Leeds General Infirmary to assess whether it is possible to collect and analyse the breath of children with a suspected appendicitis in order to speed up diagnosis. Now we are working on the development of a full-scale clinical research programme and we need your support.Your donation will enable the development of the programme. In addition, by supporting the project in this way your contribution will also strengthen the large-scale funding application that will fund the research.

Thank you for your interest in Matthew's Miracle. Please contribute whatever you can.