Kerstie Flanagan
William 'Billy Bob' Millar
Fundraising for Evelina London Children's Hospital
Story
Dear friends and loved ones,
As many of you know, little William Stanley Millar burst into the world on 24th July last year, and immediately embarked on an unexpected plan to bankrupt the NHS, by using as many different treatments, medications and investigations as possible. Born with only one kidney that barely worked, and small lungs, we prepared ourselves for oxygen at home until he grew, nightly dialysis and eventually a kidney transplant. As time went on he continued to puzzle the doctors who then discovered that not only were his lungs small, they were also very abnormally constructed. He was also found to have a large hole in his heart. We spent the vast majority of the last 6 1/2 months living in the Evelina, with good days here and there, but more recently his health was deteriorating. The consultants concluded that he was also suffering from pulmonary hypertension, usually life limiting and incurable, and combined with his other problems they warned us he did not have long left, though no one really knew how long.
As usual Billy-Bob took matters into his own hands and let us know he was tired of fighting the conditions he had been valiantly battling since he was born, and he went to sleep peacefully in our arms late evening on Valentine's Day 2016.
From the very beginning, the Evelina London Children's Hospital has been incredible in every possible way. The equipment, treatments and wards are state of the art, and the hospital is designed to be as uplifting and child friendly as possible. The staff-whether nurses, doctors, radiographers, physiotherapists, play therapists, dietitians, and many many more, have worked tirelessly to help make William better and to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. They were also amazingly supportive of us as a family, and always had time for us, whether to explain what was happening, or simply to make us a cup of tea.
As well as the medical staff, there are a whole team of play therapists, music therapists and volunteers who spend their lives trying to make hospital a less scary experience for children of all ages. On the wards one parent is able to sleep by the child's bedside every night, and when in PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) accommodation is found for both parents so we can be just minutes away. While the hospital does receive income from the NHS, they also rely heavily on donations in order to make this possible. During our many days and nights in hospital we gained a small insight into the vast costs of providing such wonderful care. Your donations will not only help fund state of the art equipment and treatments, but will also help provide activities and staff to support children and families through the most scary and difficult times of their lives.
We will forever be indebted to this amazing hospital, and its beautiful staff for giving us 6 1/2 months with our gorgeous son, for doing everything they could to help him get better, and for supporting us through the unexpected and impossibly difficult last days.
As many of you know, little William Stanley Millar burst into the world on 24th July last year, and immediately embarked on an unexpected plan to bankrupt the NHS, by using as many different treatments, medications and investigations as possible. Born with only one kidney that barely worked, and small lungs, we prepared ourselves for oxygen at home until he grew, nightly dialysis and eventually a kidney transplant. As time went on he continued to puzzle the doctors who then discovered that not only were his lungs small, they were also very abnormally constructed. He was also found to have a large hole in his heart. We spent the vast majority of the last 6 1/2 months living in the Evelina, with good days here and there, but more recently his health was deteriorating. The consultants concluded that he was also suffering from pulmonary hypertension, usually life limiting and incurable, and combined with his other problems they warned us he did not have long left, though no one really knew how long.
As usual Billy-Bob took matters into his own hands and let us know he was tired of fighting the conditions he had been valiantly battling since he was born, and he went to sleep peacefully in our arms late evening on Valentine's Day 2016.
From the very beginning, the Evelina London Children's Hospital has been incredible in every possible way. The equipment, treatments and wards are state of the art, and the hospital is designed to be as uplifting and child friendly as possible. The staff-whether nurses, doctors, radiographers, physiotherapists, play therapists, dietitians, and many many more, have worked tirelessly to help make William better and to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. They were also amazingly supportive of us as a family, and always had time for us, whether to explain what was happening, or simply to make us a cup of tea.
As well as the medical staff, there are a whole team of play therapists, music therapists and volunteers who spend their lives trying to make hospital a less scary experience for children of all ages. On the wards one parent is able to sleep by the child's bedside every night, and when in PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) accommodation is found for both parents so we can be just minutes away. While the hospital does receive income from the NHS, they also rely heavily on donations in order to make this possible. During our many days and nights in hospital we gained a small insight into the vast costs of providing such wonderful care. Your donations will not only help fund state of the art equipment and treatments, but will also help provide activities and staff to support children and families through the most scary and difficult times of their lives.
We will forever be indebted to this amazing hospital, and its beautiful staff for giving us 6 1/2 months with our gorgeous son, for doing everything they could to help him get better, and for supporting us through the unexpected and impossibly difficult last days.