The story and fundraising continues; Ken Broomfield is heading to Belgium this coming weekend to run in the Antwerp City Marathon on Sunday 25th April. Why Antwerp you may think? Well he did try to get a place in the London Marathon on the same day but was unsuccessful in his ballot application. Never one to be put off, he's put in 4 months of training (ish..) and is raring to go this weekend (definitely ish....).  Please help Ken in his efforts over the 26.2 mile course by donating to the IcklePickles Charity which continues to help Jack and Sam (Ken's nephews) and Katie. These "special babies" received the very best special medical care and support in the early days and weeks of their lives. Any donation will make a huge difference.

To read their story, please see below

Thank You !!

 

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We are raising money for Portsmouth Neonatal Unit and Worthing Special Care Unit through the Ickle Pickles Neonatal Charity. Katie, Jack and Sam owe their lives to the Doctors and Nurses that work on these units. Here are their stories...

Jack and Sam's story -

When we found out we were having twins it never really occurred to my Husband Den and I that they would make such an early appearance. I’d carried our daughter Meg till 41 weeks and she weighed in at a healthy 8lb 12 oz, so no one was too concerned about the pregnancy. However this time things were different. I went into labour at just 28 weeks. Worthing Hospital were excellent and quickly gave me drugs to try and stop the labour, steroids to help mature the boys lungs and sent me via emergency ambulance to St Mary’s at Portsmouth who were more equipped to look after such pre term babies..
Unfortunately all attempts to stop my labour failed and our boys were born at 6.08am and 6.10am weighing 2lb 11oz and 2lb 9 1/2 oz. We called them Jack and Samuel. Both cried when they were born. The medical staff assessed them and then put breathing tubes down to stabilized them. They told me it was to assess their breathing and hopefully they would be taken out the next day. I was wheeled into recovery and once they were stable they were wheeled in to see me. They were like tiny little new born birds, completely helpless and absolutely beautiful!

The next day they were taken off the ventilator and put onto CPAP which helped them to breath on their own. Sam did so well on CPAP he was put onto oxygen via nasal prongs within a few days. Jack also did well but still needed a bit more help from the CPAP machine. Unfortunately a few weeks later Sam got E-coli septicemia and became very sick. It was terrible to see him with cannulas sticking out of him and not being able to hold and comfort him, he was so still and lifeless. But after 5 harrowing days thankfully he began to respond to the antibiotics and was soon back to breathing by himself again.

They both got stronger and after 5 weeks we were transferred back to Worthing Special Care Unit. Sadly again, Sam became very sick. He was diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (a serious bowel problem) and had to be transferred by emergency neonatal ambulance to for treatment. I knew we'd nearly lost him when he got E-coli, but this time it was far worse. He was ventilated for a week and then took 2 weeks to recover. It was truly awful to see him so ill and he was so stressed by all the medical intervention he would twitch to the point where he looked like he was fitting. For the second time we had to contemplate the thought that we may not be bringing 2 little boys home. Because Jack was at a different hospital I couldn't visit every day, so I stayed in with Sam while Den visited Jack and looked after Megan. After 3 long weeks Sam was transferred back to and 4 days later they were both well enough to come home

Our 2 beautiful boys are going from strength to strength (as you'll be able to see if you click on the photos!). They are now 15 months old and are cheeky, healthy, happy little monkeys! They can nearly walk and can do most things they should be doing for their actual age. I can't believe how far our little fighters have come and it is all thanks to the Doctors and Nurses who worked so tirelessly to save them. So Meg and her Uncle Ken and Simon are running this race to raise money to say a huge ‘THANK YOU!’ to them all and to help other special babies.

 

Katie's story -

Katie and Lucy will be running this year in the Mini Great South Run in Portsmouth in October. The run is for about a mile and highlights should be shown on Channel Five the next day.

Katie is now a tall healthy six year old who loves to cycle, run, walk, do gymnastics and swim. It is surprising that she has enough time for school!

However when she was born it was a different story! She was born four weeks premature and she was very small and fragile. She seemed very tired and did not want to feed. A few hours after she was born at Worthing Hospital the Midwife was not at all happy with her and realised that her little body was shutting down. We could have lost her!

The Midwife rushed her into the adjacent Special Care Baby Unit at Worthing Hospital and they immediately started to regulate her temperature and feed her through a nose tube. She remained in SCBU for nearly a week during which time she steadily improved and eventually she was allowed to go home.

Her Mummy, Clare, will never forget those first few traumatic hours and the complete heartache as she thought that she was losing the tiny bundle that had been the focus of her hopes and dreams for so long. The prompt action of the staff at Worthing Hospital and in particular the care and facilities at the Special Care Baby Unit saved our little daughter and we owe them more than we could ever pay.

Katie and Lucy’s run is merely a small repayment for this care.