In May 2019, as a family, we were all overjoyed that my daughter Charlotte and her partner Dean were going to become parents.

At a routine midwife appointment the baby’s heartbeat was found to be irregular and they believed the baby to have an ectopic heart beat which is not too much of a concern. It’s quite common and often resolves itself after they are born. Charlotte got a referral to Basingstoke to see a consultant and after a scan, the doctor left the room, and she had a horrible sinking feeling. She came back in and told Charlotte and Dean that their baby had a heart block and they'd have to pack a bag and go straight down to Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton, that same day. 

They did as they were told, with no idea what lay ahead but that the news wasn’t good. Two consultants, Dr Black and Dr Howe carried out the ultrasound and assessed the baby’s heart. They discovered the top beating away normally but the bottom was very slow at only about 48 bpm. As they explained what had happened Charlotte and Dean both tried to stay strong and understand what this all meant. The best case scenario, they'd have to hope she could continue as she was and have a planned c-section at 39 weeks so she was as big as possible, before she’d need a pacemaker and with weekly scans to monitor her progress. 

She did it, she was a strong little cookie. On 6th November my gorgeous granddaughter Esme was delivered. After about a 3 week stay in NICU due to some other complications, Esme was moved to E1 Ocean ward. Here she waited until the doctors felt she was ready for her open heart surgery to fit a pacemaker. All went well, apart from some issues with the wound healing. But 2 more operations later, there have been no more hospital stays since February 2020 and Esme is thriving. 

The kindness and expert care from the whole teams in NICU, E1 and PICU was amazing!!!! From the surgeon who took the time to see Esme when we were worried about her wound; the anaesthetist who came in to discuss the operation despite being on his day off taking his son to uni; the lady who took Charlottes food order every day and would order a cheese and bean jacket if Charlotte didn’t make it in time to order; the nurse who worked late just to make sure Esme was ok after not recovering well from her op; everyone went above and beyond.

To recognise the superb care and treatment by the various departments I am going to walk The Ridgeway during the spring /summer. It is an 87 mile trek which I will probably split into two . Hopefully anybody with an inclination will be welcome to join me, no matter how short a distance they can traverse.

I hope to keep giving updates on my progress along the way. 

The Ocean Ward at Southampton Hospital will be the beneficiary because Esme will have a long association with Ocean Ward due to having a life long pacemaker. At present they constantly download information from the pace-maker and she will require changes to her pacemaker as she grows. 

A serious charity organiser I knew within the film industry used to say - "I do not mind if you do not contribute , but I hope you do not mind me asking."

(Grandad) Robin

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.