I have experienced first hand the support of the staff in the Special care babies unit.When my son was born he was starved from oxygen during birth, this resulted in all of his organs failing. We had a very uncertain 2 weeks in the unit wondering if we would leave as a family or not. We were lucky that we had a happy ending, and my son made a full recovery with no lasting effects however some couples do not get the same outcome but the one thing that all couples have in common is the fantastic care and support offered by the staff. They are one in a million I hope no one ever experiences what our family did but I take great comfort in knowing anyone who does with receive the same care as that Brodie and I did. After this experience whenever there is an opportunity to raise funds for a charitable cause I always look to raise funds for Simpsons special care babies as I am eternally grateful for everything they did for us.

We have selected to raise funds for the Marie Curie hospice in Edinburgh as part of our fundraising activity following Shelley McBride sharing her personal experience. They supported my family during my dads illness and after he passed away, the staff personally made my experience much more manageable at the worst time in my life. The work that the hospice do for patients and their family is exceptional. They provided counselling for myself and my sister giving us a safe space to explore a cancer diagnosis and then support us after my dad passed away. My mum was able to use the complementary therapies such as aromatherapy massage, giving her an outlet to relax and deal with her own grief. They supported my dad by helping him navigate the diagnosis and at the end of his life they done everything they could do to make him more comfortable. The nurses are a friendly face and deal with the most difficult times sensitively. I think we are very lucky to have such a wonderful support network on our doorstep.

British Heart Foundation saved my dads life. They asked him to participate in a research programme by monitoring his blood pressure 3 times a day for a period of time. Once completed, he was then made aware from the results that were passed to his doctor that he had a heart murmur which open heart surgery. His Aortic valve was not working properly, instead of pushing blood out of the heart, most of it fell back in making his heart work harder. If he did not have surgery, he would have been dead within 5 years. Such a simple thing, BHF asking my dad to complete the programme, by chance they saved his life. Forever Grateful.