Hello and thank you very much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

My name is Libbie Faye Handley and this is my story....

 

At Christmas 2012 just after we had been to Euro Disney, my big sister Tialer got chicken pox.  The  5th January 2013 was my 3rd birthday which as I had been to Disney before Christmas I didn't have a party but went out with my Mummy, Sister, Grandma, Uncle Biggz, Suzanne and baby Bella. I had lots of fun.

 

 

The week after I too got chicken pox but also a high temperature so Mummy took me to the Doctors and then the hospital near where I live. They kept me in as they thought I might have meningitis too. The next morning I couldn't breathe, so the North West and North Wales Transports Service (NWTS) kept me breathing and took me to the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital Intensive Care Unit. 

 

I was getting more sick and turned blue so they had me baptised here in ICU.  It was then decided by the Lead consultant of the NWTS team and the RMCH Drs that I was too sick to be treated here as they hadn't the equipment, so I needed to go to Alder Hey Childrens Hospital ICU in Liverpool. Again NWTS organised the transfer and prepared me for the journey that would save my life and also prepare me for the treatment I would receive.  I have a nickname at NWTS ..."ECMO Libbie"   :-)

 

As soon as I arrived at Alder Hey, I had a cardiac arrest and I was very poorly and still blue. They put me on an Ecmo machine and dialysis as my body had totally shut down, then put me in an induced coma and put lots of antibiotics into me as I had Strep A and Septicaemia.

 

Things didn’t look very good for me, but I made a fast recovery and the Doctors and nurses called me the "Miracle" baby. After four weeks I was allowed home with nothing but some iron medicine and a few appointments.

Six weeks after going into hospital I am now at home doing everything I did before but on little "wobbly" legs which are getting stronger every day.

 

My family had never heard of NWTS, but they were set up in November 2010 and made up of a dedicated team of Intensive Care paediatricians, doctors and nurses who transport critically ill children throughout the North West and North Wales to specialist hospitals like Alder Hey and Royal Manchester, 24 hours a day 7 days a week with another team (made up of Consultants, Doctors, Nurses from the 2 hospitals) for support.  These dedicated people along with the three hospitals I attended saved my life and me and my family will always be very grateful to them that they did.

This part of our NHS service is still new and there are things they still require and me and my family want to help, as without them I probably wouldn’t be writing this (well my Grandma Jean wouldn't :-) ), and we want you to help too.

 

So my Grandma Jeans friend Leanne has set a goal to swim 10K, that’s 400 lengths of a standard 25m pool, in order to raise money to help them buy some more equipment, like breathing machines and manikins (for training), and we would like you to help us by sponsoring her.

 

Also if you want to raise money to help them by doing an event then please use this page to donate and I will add it.

 

I haven't set a goal to reach, but every penny we raise will help provide equipment or training that will save the life of a child like me.  Please remember to Gift Aid any donations if you would please.

Thank you for reading my story .

 Lots of Love

Libbie x x