Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page! 

The Sarah Groves Foundation is a fantastic local charity set up in memory of a beautiful young lady who dedicated much time to helping others. 

~Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation & Friends of PICU~

The challenge is to walk 115 laps of the Val de Terres,  (which is the equivalent of climbing Everest) it’s an uphill winding road here in Guernsey, made a tad harder by carrying Theo in a carrier on my back for some of them!  Aiming for completion within the given 30 days with any luck.

In July 2015...Theo, our son was born seemingly healthy. Within 12hrs he was critically ill with severe Necrotising Enterocolitis.  Living on an island & not having the specialist care needed here we were quickly airlifted to Southampton General Hospital where within 15 minutes of arriving our tiny son was battling to survive in surgery. There are so many words to describe how you feel as a new parent to watch your child fall seriously ill.... shock, confusion, anger, sadness, worry. There’s a little place over from PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care) that is funded by Friends of PICU, to give parents of sick children somewhere to stay, someone to talk too & importantly...rest! They support families from all over the South West & Channel Islands. Just having somewhere quiet to sleep was a lifesaver...having been up for 2 days previously watching my son gradually go downhill I NEEDED that sleep. They also fundraise to buy much needed equipment for the PICU unit, so their work is vital.

We were then offered the flat right next door to the hospital that is funded by a local charity, the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation. I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was to have some sort of home to come to to gather thoughts & try & process everything that was happening as we had an incredibly fretful first 10 days with Theo becoming very ill again after his first surgery to remove his entire large bowel & most of his small bowel....resulting in a 2nd operation to remove more bowel that was dying off. 

Even little touches at the PPBF flat, like pictures of Guernsey & it’s landmarks made a huge difference. You can’t really think of anything else while your there apart from your child & their recovery. Even living there for a week..it feels like you’ve just left your home & you now live there permanently! After a few serious complications from surgery we ended up having to stay over there for 63 incredibly long days. Having the flat to stay in was an absolute godsend & I really don’t know how we would’ve coped without it. Here are links to the charities I’m raising this money for. Please give any small amount you can, I’d be incredibly grateful for your support,  4 surgeries & ALOT less bowel later Theo is a big,strong thriving 3 & a half yr old & we are just in awe of how far he has come & how well he is doing. Thanks for reading. ☺️xx

http://www.sarahgroves.org

http://www.friendsofpicu.org.uk

http://www.ppbf.org.gg