Anyone that knows me will be aware that I petrified of heights and just climbing the step ladder makes me giddy!! However I am also a huge advocate of Ronald McDonald House Charities UK and their Birmingham House, after they saved me from drowning under the strain when my daughter Mia Pyari was diagnosed with Infantile Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia at the age of seven months in 2017.

I will never forget the many times I walked to my room at the house after a long day at the hospital, I would read the plaques outside of other rooms, people that had sponsored a room, the immense gratitude I would feel that someone made it possible for me to stay close to my little girl. Their generosity and kindness left a mark.  

Doing this skydive is immensely important to me. It will not be an easy challenge to embark on, but then being in hospital with Mia was the most frightening experience of my life. Watching what she went through motivates me to be brave and overcome a huge fear.  What’s a challenge if it doesn’t push you outside your comfort zone?!

I will never forgot the horror and shock of learning how sick my baby was. I couldn’t comprehend the mammoth task that lay ahead of me as a mother, to help my daughter fight cancer. She’s wasn’t even a year old at the time, how is the even happening to me?

That moment of hearing her diagnosis was life changing. I soon became overwhelmed by doctors, nurses, chemotherapy, blood tests and transfusions, lumber punctures, tests, scans….all the poking and prodding with needles, the distress caused to my child. This was now my new life. I immediately stepped away from work and all other commitments, my focus was getting Mia through this. However, I was struggling to cope with living around the clock in hospital with barely a moment to rest or think straight.

Ronald McDonald House Birmingham was a lifeline for me.  The house is located a short walk from the hospital, and I was given my own room which became my sanctuary. It gave me a safe and quiet place to recharge my batteries, get a break from the hospital and the constant beeping machines, and enabled me to get some much needed sleep and rest so that I could stay strong for Mia.

With the large equipped communal kitchen, I could cook my own food and take it in for my child. The house helped me to look after myself so I could cope, stay mentally well and continue to care for Mia. I have no idea how we would have managed without the house.

I appreciate all the support that my family has been given in the recent years with our fundraising endeavours. As a family we spent 225 nights in total at the Ronald McDonald House. We are immensely grateful to them for helping us through our time of crisis. We would really like to raise £5,000 to sponsor one of the rooms we stayed in so the charity can continue to support other families in need.  So far, we are £2,100 off our target so would really like your help to get us there. Please give whatever you can to help us get closer to this goal.

Thank you

Ronald McDonald House Charities UK provides free accommodation and support for families with children in hospital. When the best medical care isn't close to home, a Ronald McDonald House keeps families together. Just £25 can help support a family for one night. Your donation will make the world of difference to families in need.