Fundraising for Cots For Tots
Tax deductible
Please read my Ronnie's story below. I would love to be able to reach my target of through my page and if anyone would like to donate anything I would be so great full as no onehas any idea what this kind of money can do for such an amazing chairty❤️ We as a family will forever be in debt to them
In the lead up to last Christmas, we wondering if our Ronnie would be born on Christmas Day; Ronnie-James was due to come into the world on 27 December 2019.
"We knew Christmas was going to be disrupted, that close to our due date it was inevitable – we just didn’t know quite how different it would be.
"In early December 2019, I went for my last growth scan; I had a textbook pregnancy and no cause for concern until I saw the look on the sonographer’s face that day.
"Ronnie-James had a diaphragmatic hernia. There was a hole in his diaphragm which was allowing his stomach to move into his chest, squashing a lung and moving his heart. Ronnie-James would need to be born at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol and would go straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) until he was strong enough to withstand an operation.
"I was booked in for an induction just two weeks’ later. Looking back now, having such a short window from finding out to having him was possibly a blessing. I never had time to get my head around what was happening.
"On 19 December, Ronnie-James was born. They had to paralyse him as he was being delivered and he was immediately whisked off to NICU and put on an oscillator, to help him breathe. An hour and a half later, I was wheelchaired up to see him.
"Nothing prepares you for that sight, all the tubes and machines for your baby that’s only hours old.
"We had no idea how long he would need to be there; it could be days, weeks, or months until he was strong enough for the hernia to be surgically repaired. It was six days before Christmas, we were far from home and we had no idea when we would be able to return.
"Cots for Tots House was a lifeline. The same day I gave birth we were able to move into a family room so that we could all be there as a family.
"At just four days old, Ronnie-James was strong enough to come off the oscillator and have his operation. He was lucky, there was enough tissue to stitch up the hernia without the need for a patch which could have led to further complications.
"We were then given the greatest gift; on Christmas Day he was taken off his breathing tube and we heard him cry for the very first time.
"Having the opportunity to stay at Cots for Tots House, just across the road from Ronnie-James, for those frightening few weeks gave us more comfort than I thought possible at the time. You never felt alone, everyone there had poorly babies too – we had an unexpected support network, especially in Anne, the house manager.
"Unfortunately, our hospital journey is far from over, after we got home on 5 January 2020 Ronnie-James was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and a rare brain condition called Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Our trips to Bristol Children’s Hospital continue.
In the lead up to last Christmas, we wondering if our Ronnie would be born on Christmas Day; Ronnie-James was due to come into the world on 27 December 2019.
"We knew Christmas was going to be disrupted, that close to our due date it was inevitable – we just didn’t know quite how different it would be.
"In early December 2019, I went for my last growth scan; I had a textbook pregnancy and no cause for concern until I saw the look on the sonographer’s face that day.
"Ronnie-James had a diaphragmatic hernia. There was a hole in his diaphragm which was allowing his stomach to move into his chest, squashing a lung and moving his heart. Ronnie-James would need to be born at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol and would go straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) until he was strong enough to withstand an operation.
"I was booked in for an induction just two weeks’ later. Looking back now, having such a short window from finding out to having him was possibly a blessing. I never had time to get my head around what was happening.
"On 19 December, Ronnie-James was born. They had to paralyse him as he was being delivered and he was immediately whisked off to NICU and put on an oscillator, to help him breathe. An hour and a half later, I was wheelchaired up to see him.
"Nothing prepares you for that sight, all the tubes and machines for your baby that’s only hours old.
"We had no idea how long he would need to be there; it could be days, weeks, or months until he was strong enough for the hernia to be surgically repaired. It was six days before Christmas, we were far from home and we had no idea when we would be able to return.
"Cots for Tots House was a lifeline. The same day I gave birth we were able to move into a family room so that we could all be there as a family.
"At just four days old, Ronnie-James was strong enough to come off the oscillator and have his operation. He was lucky, there was enough tissue to stitch up the hernia without the need for a patch which could have led to further complications.
"We were then given the greatest gift; on Christmas Day he was taken off his breathing tube and we heard him cry for the very first time.
"Having the opportunity to stay at Cots for Tots House, just across the road from Ronnie-James, for those frightening few weeks gave us more comfort than I thought possible at the time. You never felt alone, everyone there had poorly babies too – we had an unexpected support network, especially in Anne, the house manager.
"Unfortunately, our hospital journey is far from over, after we got home on 5 January 2020 Ronnie-James was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and a rare brain condition called Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Our trips to Bristol Children’s Hospital continue.
Organizer
Emma-Louise Sheppard
Organizer
Cots for Tots Appeal (Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation)
Registered nonprofit
Donations eligible for Gift Aid.
