Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read our story.

We are Leo’s parents, and we’re sharing our story in the hope of raising support for our little boy.

Our son Leo was born in June last year at just 25 weeks and 4 days gestation, weighing only 870 grams. From the moment he arrived, our lives changed in ways we could never have imagined.

Because he was born so early and under traumatic circumstances, Leo suffered severe bilateral brain bleeds (Grade 3 and 4 Intraventricular Haemorrhages). These injuries led to PVL, and Leo went on to develop hydrocephalus, chronic lung disease, metabolic bone disease, and a PDA, among other complications.

Leo required Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care, and for five months we lived almost entirely in hospital while he fought through one challenge after another. During that time Leo had to undergo three major brain surgeries, as well as surgery to repair an incisional hernia in his abdomen.

Those months were the most difficult and frightening time of our lives.

Everything in our lives had to stop overnight so we could be there to fight for Leo. At the beginning of last year Dominic (Leo’s dad) had just started a new self-employed business, but with everything that happened he had to pretty much give it up and step away from it to focus on supporting Emily and fighting for Leo’s life.

Emily (Leo’s mum) also had to leave work to care for Leo, recover from the trauma of everything that happened, and be by his side during those critical months. At the moment we still don’t know if she will be able to return to work in the future.

The emotional, physical and financial impact on our family has been enormous.

Thankfully, after five long months in hospital, Leo is finally home with us. Every single day he grows a little stronger. He now weighs 12lbs at 9 months old, and we are so incredibly proud of the strength and determination he has shown since the day he was born.

However, because of the brain injuries Leo experienced at birth, he developed hydrocephalus and will have to live the rest of his life with a VP shunt device in his brain. There is also a high risk that he may develop Cerebral Palsy and other physical or cognitive disabilities as he grows.

Living with the fear of the unknown is incredibly difficult, but as parents we are doing everything we possibly can to give Leo the very best chance at life.

Specialists have told us that early intervention is absolutely critical. Intensive physiotherapy and cognitive therapy during these early stages could make a life-changing difference for Leo, helping him build strength, movement and developmental skills that may shape the rest of his future.

The difficulty is that these therapies come at a significant cost.

Right now we are trying to rebuild our lives and recover from everything that happened last year. We truly believe that over time we will find our feet again mentally, physically and financially. Unfortunately, time is not on our side when it comes to Leo’s development. The earlier he can receive this additional therapy, the better chance he has to reach his potential.

We are therefore asking for help to raise funds to cover the cost of specialist physiotherapy and DMI therapy for Leo during these crucial early stages. As we have now reached the stage where we have started to spot early signs of physical and cognitive struggle.

This has not been an easy decision for us to make as we have tried everything in our power to avoid having to go through with this. But with Leo’s life as our absolute priority we have decided to give it a try.

We have set our initial goal at £900, which will cover 10 sessions (£90 per session) of advanced physiotherapy and DMI therapy to help Leo begin this important journey.

Every donation, no matter how small, will mean the world to us and will go directly towards helping Leo access the support he needs to give him the very best chance in life.

If you are unable to donate, we completely understand, and simply sharing Leo’s story would mean so much to our family.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for supporting our brave little boy.

With heartfelt thanks,

Emily, Dominic, Freya & Leo x