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Upcoming Events...
Joy's Journey
What? A sponsored walk from Carlisle to Newcastle along Hadrian's wall. Joy's mum and dad, nanny and grandad, aunty jo and uncle mike, aunty angela and aunty Claire will be taking part.
When? Sunday April 10th-16th
Where? Hadrians Wall trail
Why? The journey from Carlisle to Newcastle is one we made several times by car for check-ups and treatment. However this time we will walk the journey whilst remembering our daughter and the journey she went through (see below for more about her story). We hope to raise money for CHUF (Children's Heart Unit Fund) in the process so they can continue their good work.
How to help? Please sponsor us to help us raise money for CHUF. And please spread the word! :-)
Our Story...
This page has been set up in memory of our beautiful daughter Joy Naomi who sadly passed away on 9 October 2010 at only 11weeks old. Joy was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and needed several serious operations in the first month of her life. Thanks to the amazing skill and dedicated staff at Freeman Hospital, baby Joy fought through the operations and made a good recovery. After 8 weeks in hospital she was well enough for us to bring her home and enjoy time together as a family. This was a really triumph and something we are very grateful for. We were able to watch her grow and develop beautifully and build some precious memories.
However we always knew that the outlook for Joy was bleak. It was inevitable that she would need several more operations throughout her life and possibly a heart transplant at some point. But our stubborn little madame didn’t settle for that and instead she passed away in her mummy’s arms a week before we were due to take her back to hospital. Joy’s passing was very sudden but peaceful. She had been making very good progress and appeared happy and healthy right up until the morning she passed. But we are grateful that there was no further suffering involved and she was content having a cuddle with mummy before being taken to heaven.
Our pain of losing her is deep. But when we remember her smile, her courage and her strong character we find it hard to be sad. She was a special baby who touched the lives of so many people and she certainly lived up to her name! It is such a privilege to have been her parents. It has been the good memories of our angel that has helped us cope with such a tragedy. Without having those special moments, life would be unbearably hard.
So I want to thank the people who helped us build those happy memories which we now cling onto. Our family and friends who have been such a support and enjoyed Joy with us and shared in her journey-thank you for being there!
But also a massive thank you to the wonderful staff at Freeman Hospital and all the CHUF coordinators/supporters. We were blown away by the skill, dedication, facilities and overall care we received as a family. If it wasn’t for this amazing service our experience wouldn’t be so positive. Our memories would be sadder and our precious time with Joy could have been wasted. They have helped us make the most of our daughter and get the best out of her short and difficult life. That’s a gift that we will always cherish and be eternally grateful for.
So we hope to give something back out of gratitude and use this page to raise money for a worthwhile charity. We hope other families going through similar experiences can also receive this high level of support and care. We hope they will enjoy their time with their precious babies as much as we did and we hope the charity can have the funds to continue to help them more and more. How much worse things could have been for us if we had not received this help. Please remember those still suffering and living with unbearable realities-they need every little act of kindness to see them through each day and that is what this charity can provide.
For everything we have received…thank you J
Love the proud parents of Joy,
Sanju and Emily
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