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You may or may not know, but shortly after our youngest daughter, Isla, was born she began to develop problems breathing. It was initially diagnosed as Laryngomalacia or floppy larynx syndrome and we were told to take her home and expect her to outgrow it by around three months old. However her symptoms got progressively worse and one evening just after a feed she began her familiar gasping for air, but this episode was different and she began to turn blue before passing out. We rushed her to our local hospital and things began to move quickly. She was put under general anaesthetic and a machine took over her breathing for her, she was then transported to Evelina's children’s hospital where the diagnosis was corrected and we were told she had a double aortic arch. This is a congenital heart defect which can be corrected by surgery. 

We didn't feel it at the time, but we soon realised we were amongst the lucky ones in the hospital that night. Isla spent nearly a week in PICU (Paediatric intensive care unit) and a few days on the ward recovering after her surgery. During our time on both wards we saw children in a far worst condition than Isla. Some were on there 2nd or 3rd round of heart surgery, and lived constantly under the shadow of an impending heart transplant, Their parents know that one day, their child will need a new heart, and its just a matter of time. The hospital works magic on those wards, and many, many children stay there and most eventually go home better. Evelina has the highest success rate of cardiac surgery on children in the country and parents come from miles around to benefit from its care. Yet there are something’s that these parents and their children need that can't be provided by the NHS for a number of reasons. One of these is accommodation, they can offer a bed for a night or two, but they simply lack the facilities for a longer stay. This is where the Ronald McDonalds House comes in, the Ronald McDonald at Guys is an independent children’s charity providing free accommodation and caring support for families whose children are in hospital. Their stay can be from a few days to many months. The House provides a 'home from home' for parents with kitchens, playroom and a secluded garden. Sam and I feel we should count our blessing and want to give something back after their hospitality during this time.

We have run a regular poker game for three years now and are due to play the season finale on August 15^th, we thought it would be a nice idea to use our annual game as a vehicle for fund raising and are already expecting between ten and eleven players to attend on the night. We have managed to secure some McDonalds burgers to cook on the BBQ and it should be a nice fundraiser. The poker alone should raise £150 for the charity and we will be over the moon if things go as planned. But we know lots of our friends and family wont be able to attend our event or simply don’t like poker but would still like to donate, hence this website.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.