Our nightmare begun on Tuesday the 20th of December when our daughter Daisy woke up in the middle of the night with severe breathing difficulties. We then rang 999 and within 10 minutes the ambulance arrived and took her straight up to St Mary's hospital. This is when we were told she had Flu A, Croup and a chest/lung infection. They acted quickly giving her numerous nebulisers and steroids. We were admitted to the children's ward where we spent two nights watching the nurses do everything they could to help Daisy. Unfortunately the steroids and nebulisers weren't able to help her. This is when we knew there was a high chance that Daisy would be sedated and transferred to Southampton hospital.

We then spent 5 days in Southampton hospital, 3 of which Daisy was in intensive care. She was then taken down to the childrens ward where she spent her first Christmas. The Doctors were happy with her progress and we were discharged home on Monday the 26th.

We were so happy to have our little girl home. Unfortunately the next morning Daisy woke up with breathing difficulties again. We were full with fear as we thought she was getting better. We took her straight up to St marys where we were again admitted to the children's ward. They explained that the croup hadnt healed and her airways were extremely tight. They quickly gave her back to back nebulisers and two sets of steroids. After a scary 24 hour wait Daisy progressed massively overnight and showed signs that she was getting better. They advised us that we should stay for two extra nights to be sure that all the medication had worked. Daisy continued to get better over the two days and we were discharged Thursday the 29th. Since we've been home Daisy has thrived and is nearly back to her usual self.

It will take 5-7 weeks for her to fully recover from all of the infections.

We cant thank all of the doctors and nurses enough for what they did for Daisy. The fact that there is even a debate on whether they should be paid more is absolutely ridiculous. They saved our little girls life and we are forever grateful to every single one of them.

This has been the scariest time of our lives, Nothing can repay what they've done but we want to do everything we can to help this charity as it will always have a special place in our hearts.

Do you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of Friends of PICU and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Friends of PICU: The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital Southampton is the regional specialist 16 bed ward for Southern England and the Channel Islands. 1000 Critically ill Children, newborn to 18years of age are admitted each year and cared for 24 hours a day with 1to1 nursing. The Friends of PICU supports these children and their families by providing vital equipment and services not provided by the statutory authorities and creating a suitable environment for the children to be cared within.