I am raising money in memory of my amazing baby boy Thomas Leslie. Thomas was born extremely prematurely at just 23 weeks in February 2016. In March 2016 he was transferred to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, St. Mary's NICU after being diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a condition that affects the bowels.

Thomas stayed 5 months in Manchester and during that time my wife Jolene stayed at Ronald McDonald and I commuted from Burnley to Manchester every night after work and stayed there with her at the weekend.

We were so grateful to be near our brave Son whilst he was in hospital and we wouldn't have been able to be by his side when he needed us without them. It costs the charity £25 per night for a room and it provides families with cooking and washing facilities to make a 'home from home'.

We again relied on Ronald McDonald House in September '16 when after being discharged without oxygen and being at home for just 6 weeks Thomas was again diagnosed with NEC. We then spent a further 5 weeks at the house whilst he courageously recovered in hospital.

We got to enjoy 4 precious months with Thomas after we brought him home from Manchester the second time and he was growing and thriving everyday. 

We were devastated when we unexpectedly lost our brave little baby boy in December 2016 aged just 10 months, after suffering with complications relating to reflux. He was a true fighter right to the end and we are so proud of him. 

We would like to raise enough money to sponsor a room at the amazing Ronald McDonald House Manchester in Thomas's memory by supporting and taking part in fundraising events.

At the end of May I am running in the Manchester 10k in memory of Thomas. Any donations you can give would be gratefully received and will spur me on tremendously to the end of the run! 

Thank you

Chris and Jolene xx