Nearly 6 months have passed since we lost Zoe and it is hard to find a way to express how grateful we are for the love and support we have received. The incredible goodness of people we know, and also of those we don't, has carried us through to a place where we feel that everything is going to be okay.

The day we left the paediatric intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital London we knew that there needed to be a way to honour those who worked 24/7 to save our daughter's life; and to do our bit to ensure that all of the children in the lives of everyone we knew had an even better chance of survival in the future.

So we called on you to help support the cause of COSMIC (Children of St. Mary's Intensive Care) and you overwhelmed us with your response....

Approximately 180 people from seven countries (the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and South Africa, China) have raised £35,854.58 ($53,932.59) to go toward COSMIC's mission of supporting research, equipment, parent lodging and patient transport at the hospital.[NOTE: THE AMOUNT IS GROWING EVERY DAY!]

Zoe had to be on a ventilator for all of her short life. It kept her alive and gave her a chance. The money you raised for us will go toward a down payment on a special type of ventilator that will be fitted at all the beds in the ICU. The company providing the equipment said if a down payment could be raised, the remainder could be paid in a year (which the charity feels confident will be possible - and we'll continue supporting)

We hope you feel that this is a good use of the funds. We also are happy to share that Zoe is getting a sibling in the first week of November!

Thank you again for showing such support to us - in more ways than just the donation.

**********************************

Our precious daughter, Zoe, was born on the 26th of November 2008. She was challenged by a condition, called exomphalos, that meant her liver and initially some of her intestines were in a sack on the outside of her body. Despite this her prognosis was very good having made it to her mum's 39th week and with great vitals and a feisty spirit.

Unfortunately things are never that easy and she developed some serious complications in just the first day of her life.  As her kidneys struggled to support her the only medical option was for Zoe to be transferred from St. Mary's Hospital London's neonatal unit to their Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where a dialysis machine existed. PICU doesn't usually deal with babies quite so young but we've never seen such a heroic show of love, commitment, patience and strength.

We are grateful to so many at St. Mary's from the obstetrics team to Zoe's surgeons, the staff at the Winnicot neonatal unit and the PICU.  But we spent Zoe's last days with the team at the PICU and we also saw a very important opportunity to help other parents. There is still research and equipment that can save childrens' lives. Zoe had to go on a dialysis machine that's intended for adults. It's just an example of the type of work that still needs to be done to save babies' lives.

We can't bring back our precious Zoe, but we can put all of our love and strength into making sure other parents, such as those we shared stories with in the PICU parents' lounge, never have to suffer like our daughter and family did.

Please join us in this effort to celebrate a short but meaningful life.

Love, Ross & Shannon