This autumn, we are joining the Charity team at the family-friendly Lantern Walk at Heaton Park in support of the NHS’ family of 10 hospitals in Manchester.

We are walking for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

We are walking so that the hospital can carry on its fantastic work. In April, we got a call to say Alice wasn’t herself at school. My mum picked her up and I headed there. When I got there, Alice wasn’t well so I rang 111, thinking I’d try and get an out of hour’s appointment. An ambulance was dispatched and we were taken to A&E at Oldham hospital. The doctor we saw knew Alice was poorly and took us himself down to X-ray, Ultrasound and for a scan. He said we couldn’t wait for a porter, we didn’t have time. The X-ray showed a collapsed lung. A consultant came to see us, and assembled a squad of doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, and we were told Alice would be fully sedated and ventilated and we’d be moved to RMCH PICU. We have never been more terrified.

A team from NWTS was called and we were moved. We arrived at PICU at 1am where the care, compassion and treatment Alice received was amazing as well as the support for us. She was taken to theatre where 2 teams looked after her and tried to find out what was happening. Alice also had regular visits from the physio team as well as all the fantastic nurses, doctors, consultants and staff.When Alice was well enough, we moved to respiratory ward for a spell , where the tooth fairy even found us, and eventually allowed home.

Every single member of staff there was fantastic and we are walking to help them continue their work.