Poppy’s Palace

Hello! I’m Natalie and on the 14th April, I will be running the Manchester Marathon for a very special cause, Poppy’s Palace, and an even more special child, Tom.

Tom was a confident, cheeky and healthy little boy. He had just started walking, which was his new favourite thing, he also loved swimming, going to a music class, biting furniture and eating more blueberries than anyone thought possible.

He had just started nursery, and absolutely loved playing in their mud kitchen and making new friends.

Then, on Saturday 24th March he became unwell with what his parents and the doctors thought was a vomiting bug. On Tuesday night he was admitted into Stepping Hill Hospital, on Wednesday morning he had a massive seizure. He was put into a coma, taken for a scan, then blue lit from Stepping Hill to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where he was immediately taken into ICU.

He spent two weeks in ICU, where they diagnosed meningitis and septicemia. He was fighting the septicemia well, but unfortunately the meningitis caused his brain to swell to catastrophic levels, causing so much brain damage he could not survive.

He passed away on the 12th March aged just 14 months and 1 day.

Jenny and Keith were supported by many charities over those two weeks. One of the charities that have brought a lot of comfort to Jenny and Keith is Poppy's Palace Foundation, who support bereaved families through the loss of their child. This could fund grave stones, or for clothes and blankets to the Snow drops (bereavement) team at Alder Hey.

Poppy's Palace Foundation provided funding for a cast to be made of Jenny and Keith holding Baby Tom's hand a few days before he died. This has brought such comfort, knowing that they will forever be holding hands.

If you would like to donate a little or a lot, it really helps parents who are going through the unthinkable.

Thank you from all of Tom's family and friends.