Our youngest daughter Georgia Angelica Morgan Hill - 'Our Boo' - spent 5 weeks in the neonatal unit and predominately the ITC unit being born with duodenal atresia needing corrective surgery when just one day new.

Boo was born 5 weeks early and was small for being delivered at 35 weeks,  and she is still a wee toot.  Now 3 years 7 months (as at October 2022) she is just 20 pounds and 83cm, and has never quite made it on to a centile in the red book.  She has global developmental delay and is non verbal and has some hearing difficulties - however she signs with makaton - something Ange has embraced herself into learning to encourage Georgia's communication - and she definitely doesn't allow being non verbal stop her from letting us know what she wants!  

Following the surgery which was to essentially repair the connection between her stomach and bowel.  Georgia was fed via IV until the duodenum worked itself - in laymans terms - they fed her bowel with Mummy's expressed breast milk and when her wee bowel finally worked they could begin slowly introducing milk via tube to her stomach.

The whole experience was worrying, unsettling and at times scary and for the whole family in different regards.

Ange developed polyhydramnios and was larger than expected during pregnancy which was a sign something wasn't right....and following the diagnosis at around 6 months, the care really kicked in then.

We had suffered numerous miscarriages and Ange especially struggled during pregnancy with the sheer worry of losing another baby hence receiving a lot of care and scans. As the weeks and months passed, to have a safe feeling that everything was actually going to be ok, and then find out that our baby would need surgery was devastating and scary.  The impact it had and the worry of Georgia's development has taken a toll on Ange's mental health but is relentless when it comes to the girl's care,

When it was time to deliver the baby it was a planned section as a natural delivery was not seen as being safe.  Amazingly baby managed to hold on to 35 weeks when we had been told it might be 32 weeks max, every day counted to a little more growth.

Hospital professionals have said there are no clear links between her growth issues, developmental delay / hearing and the surgery that she needed, or indeed with the microduplication she has.  It is simply  unfortunate and although genetics have said that she has a syndrome....at the moment its a syndrome without a name as there doesn't seem to be any other cases like our Boo....truly one of a kind! 

She has needed a lot more care and support than for example her big sister Charlotte-Dee who lives at home with her.  One effect Georgia suffered was reflux and struggled to digest food.  She didn't sleep well at all, was uncomfortable, sick over 100 times a week, and didn't wean until well over 12 months old, and then also was unfortunate enough to suffer and egg and diary allergy. She really hasn't had it easy  and will continue to need more support as she grows. from both the NHS and us, her family.

And so, getting back to the expedition in hand, the trek itself, travel and equipment will be self funded and any money raised will go to 'Friends of Neonatal (part of the Archie foundation) to help buy new equipment for the new baby neonatal unit in Aberdeen which they will rely on purchasing with funds.

As her parents, we Ange & Davie cannot thank the staff from pre delivery, delivery team, surgeon, and the neonatal team for how they have supported us on this journey and the support Georgia receives to this day and will continue to for years to come.

Davie being the adventurer that he is, decided he needed to do something big, something that would take a lot of training to help encourage more fundraising to raise a much as possible. However, Ange being left at home with both girls and juggling work and life for almost 3 months will likely be the harder task....but doesn't have the same appeal as training to climb to Imja Tsa, better known as Island Peak via Mount Everest Base Camp!

Island peak is a glacier that summits 6160m above sea level and will see Davie using climbing techniques to make his way though short rick steps, crevasses, seracs and 40-45 degree slopes out of the summit glacier to the summit.

It certainly will be a challenge  but in our eyes,  not as challenging as what our Georgia Boo has went through. 

We are so proud of our little girl, and raising money for Neonatal to care for other children in need, is one way of showing how thankful we are and one day she will see that too.

Thank you for reading this and supporting this amazing cause <3