On Thursday the 27th of June this year our lives changed forever. Our daughter, Willow, just a month after her first birthday was taken ill suddenly and a roller-coaster month started. We went from having a perfectly healthy baby to deaths door in 24hrs, told she would probably need a heart transplant a few days later, had to learn complex medical conditions  overnight and had the pain of seeing her heart stop three times in 24 hrs, the last time for 4 minutes. Without the fantastic care received at Northampton General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital Willow would not be with us today. Her life was saved (the third time!) when she was put on ECMO , without this treatment her heart would not have recovered, we would have been facing either losing her or a heart transplant. We were lucky. We were very, very lucky…

We originally planned this blog when Willow was in PICU at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester to keep our friends and family updated.. by time we had it set up Willow was home! We made the decision to start fundraising for HeartLink children’s charity while still in Glenfield, the support given by HeartLink is invaluable, from little things like tea and coffee to accommodation and washing/laundry facilities – this is a major stress removed from parents suffering enough already. They also provide equipment for the hospital including scanners, monitors… even an Ambulance!! Without contributions there would be no help, no accommodation, no tea & coffee.. no additional help for the next child in willows position…

Sorry if any of the photos offend, they aren’t there for dramatic effect, they are there to hammer home the seriousness of both Willow’s condition and that of other children on PICU.

We are aiming, (maybe unrealistically!) to purchase another ECMO machine for Glenfield, these cost in the region of £40,000…

Dig deep people, check the fundraising page for what events you can sponsor or just click the paypal button below.

Iain & Denise…. and Willow, of course xx