The skydive is now complete! Thank you so much to all who donated but now it is Jackson’s daddy, uncles and friends turn…

We (Jack, Hayden, Andrew, David, George and James) have decided to run to raise money for Ronald McDonald House charity for Edinburgh hospital and ScotSTAR who were a huge support to Jackson during a very difficult time. Jack, Hayden and David will be running the Edinburgh marathon on the 26th of May 2024 (Jackson's birthday). Jackson's uncle George and uncle James will be running the 10k on the 25th of May and Andrew will also be running the Wales Marathon on the 23rd of June.

Jackson's Story

Jackson had a very difficult birth, he was born 4 weeks early and when he was born he went into respiratory distress, he was rushed to ICU in Aberdeen Neonatal where he was treated. Jackson was discharged a week later with Erbs Palsy, which is paralysis of the nerves in his arm. Luckily, the function of his arm returned a few weeks later. However, once home Jackson's condition continued to deteriorate and he wouldn't feed and his breathing became rapid.

He was admitted to hospital and within a few hours was placed in high dependency, requiring CPAP, oxygen, NG tube and antibiotics. Jackson's condition did not improve and Jackson was placed on a ventilator at just 3 weeks old. Aberdeen hospital do not have a children's ICU and therefore he had to be transferred to Edinburgh hospital.

ScotSTAR were responsible for flying Jackson safely to Edinburgh whilst continuing to be ventilated. The retrieval team take the skills of the paediatric intensive care unit on the road, to the bedside of critically ill children throughout Scotland. Knowing that these doctors/nurse specialists were incredibly skilled gave us some peace knowing that Jackson was being well looked after.

Upon arriving at Edinburgh hospital, all we cared about was the wellbeing of our son but being nearly 3 hours from home we realised we had no where to stay and because Jackson was in ICU there was no sleeping facilities. This is where the Ronald McDonald charity came in.

Ronald McDonald House Charities UK provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation to families with children having treatment in hospital.

They provide family activities, peer support, respite, and many other services. This means that families can be by their child’s bedside in a matter of moments, whilst maintaining a degree of normal life with reduced emotional and financial strain. Our families were also able to come and stay with us during the 4 weeks we were there. I cannot imagine the amount of money we would have had to spend on hotels/taxis etc if this service was not available.

Jackson was eventually diagnosed with a paralysed left diaphragm, which is a life long condition caused at birth during his forceps delivery. He spent a total of 7 weeks in hospital and unfortunately has had countless more visits and admissions since then. However, I am pleased to say he is a very happy, charismatic cheeky wee boy who loves his beep beeps and is loved more than I could have ever imagine. He has been through more in his little life that some people encounter in a lifetime, he is strong, resilient and a fighter we are beyond proud of.

These charities were essential in making Jackson's journey just that little bit easier and that's why we have chosen to fundraise for them, in the hope that they can continue to help other families in their time need.

To donate to Ronald McDonald please donate through this page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jackson2024 To donate to ScotSTAR which is part of the Scotland Ambulance Service please donate through this page.