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On the 15th April 2023, I will be be doing a tandem skydive for the Sick Childrens Trust, who provide accommodation for families with seriously Ill children needing hospital care.  I have stayed in two of the houses and know how important it is to be able to be close to your child when they are in hospital.  

Our son Ewan was born by emergency cesarean at the west Suffolk hospital in Bury St Edmunds. Despite his healthy birth weight of 9lbs 14oz, within 24 hours he began having problems with his breathing and he wasn’t feeding properly. He was whisked off to the NICU unit and quickly put on oxygen and a feeding tube inserted. Further tests showed he had a shadow on his lung which needed further investigation. This meant he was transferred to the NICU at the Rosie, which is part of Addenbrookes in Cambridge about an hour from home.

Once Ewan was settled, we had to think about what we would do, and where would we stay; the thought of travelling in and out every day was not a good one, a. As new parents, we wanted to be as near to him as possible, especially when we still didn’t know what was wrong.   Thankfully we were pointed in the direction of Acorn House at the Rosie, a home from home run by the Sick Childrens Trust. We were made to feel very welcome and was very pleased to be given a room.  It was a huge relief to know I could be with him in a few minutes, no matter what time of night or day, and be with him for as long at time as needed. Equally important was having a private space where we could rest, have something to eat and have a break from the bleeping machines,. The communal areas meant we were able to speak to other parents who had babies or children needing hospital care. The support was amazing. 

After lots of tests and discussions with various specialists, Ewan was diagnosed with a Congenital Cystic Adenoidal Malformation (C-CAM), a fairly rare condition that is usually picked up during antenatal scans. It was decided that the best option would be to remove it when he was about 7 months old.  After about a week, his condition had improved enough to be moved back to Bury.  After a few days he was breathing and feeding well enough to be taken off the oxygen and have his feeding tube removed, and we could finally take him home.  

Thankfully we had no further issues with his breathing, and he certainly had a good  appetite! Despite his normal healthy development, there was always the worry about his lungs. Following several more appointments and scans, with Ewan just over 7 months old, we were back at Addenbrookes where he had a successful operation which removed the part of his lung that contained the C-CAM. This time we were lucky to stay at Chestnut House,  another of the Sick Childrens Trusts homes from home.

Ewan recovered quickly from his op, and has had no further issues with his lungs.  He is a happy, healthy and energetic five year old. A typical boy, he loves nothing more than grubbing about in the dirt and finding all manner of bugs and beasts, though with me working for  a conservation charity and his dad a gardener, we expected nothing less!  He is now in Year 1 at the local primary school, which he really enjoys. The different year groups are named after trees, and appropriately for Ewan, the reception class is Acorn.

Having experienced the support and care provided by the Trust, raising funds by carrying out this skydive is my way of supporting the trust and giving other families the comfort of being close to their children when they need them most.

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