Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.

On 23rd October 2016 our little boy Marcus James was born via emergency c-section after a few tough weeks of pregnancy. I was only 32 weeks and Marcus weighed only 4lb. He was taken away to the neonatal unit after we saw him for only a few seconds. James and I managed to get some sleep but in the morning a doctor came to see us and dropped the bombshell that Marcus was very poorly.

Through the night they struggled to keep him alive and he needed emergency surgery. The transfer team were already there to take him to Chelsea and Westminster hospital to the specialist surgical unit. James travelled in the ambulance with Marcus but I had to wait at the Royal Berkshire for a few hours till they could transfer me. 

The surgical team at Chelsea were amazing. As you can imagine for James and me the whole situation was devastating but the doctors and nurses were so calm and reassuring. Marcus had a condition called Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF) and also had a punctured stomach, caused by assisting his breathing immediately after birth. After a long 5 hour wait we were told the surgery was finished and marcus was stable. Although his stomach had been fixed they couldn't fix the TOF as Marcus again became very ill. We would have to wait 9 weeks before he could have a second surgery to complete the fix. During these 9 weeks the nursing staff were fantastic and a real support for us both. Marcus took a lot of looking after and needed one of his tubes clearing every 15 minutes. That's a lot of work over 9 weeks! The second surgery was a success and during the next 4 weeks Marcus had to learn to feed from a bottle and grew stronger everyday. 

On 23rd January 2017, 3 months to the day, we took Marcus home. It was the best day of our lives. Aimee finally got to meet her little brother who she had heard so much about. We finally had our little boy and our family was complete. 

Words cannot describe how grateful we are to all the staff at the neonatal unit, they saved our little boys life and do such amazing things everyday for so many families. We would like to show our appreciation by raising some money for the Chelsea Childrens Hospital Charity so they can continue to help save these precious babies.