On the 23rd of July 2016, our first born Reggie was born at 24 weeks gestation (16 weeks early) weighing a miniscule 650gs. His road to recovery was/ is long and bumpy starting with an initial four and a half month hospital stay. 

Roughly three months in to Reggie's journey when his health had began to stabilise we hit a major bump in the road and nearly lost him. At 02:30 in the morning we received 'the' phone call that every NICU parent dreads and subsequently spent every second next to his incubator in fear every minute with him would be our last.

And then this amazing thing happened; we were referred to the sick children's trust- a charity that provides a home from home for the parents of sick children allowing them to stay within minutes of their child, aiding both the child's recovery as well as the parents. This wonderful, amazing, miraculous place provided us with a safe space during the darkest, most heart braking moments of our lives, allowing us to be right where we needed to be as our miracle boy fought, survived and eventually thrived. We will be forever grateful to this charity for all they did for us and continue to do for so many others. 

For that reason as well as my own quest for personal healing I have decided to raise money for the sick children's trust by participating in a gruelling 100km trek across the Sahara desert in November next year. I am beyond excited and can't wait to get started on lots of exciting fundraising ideas. I am self funding for this trip to ensure that 100% of money raised will go straight to providing this valuable resource for families when they need it most. 

For all those who have read this story, those who share it and for those who donate- Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Mikaela and Reggie-Roo x