As many of you are aware, our two children, Declan Thomas and Ella Annel, were born extremely premature at 25 weeks in St. George's Hospital.  Unfortunately, Declan did not survive, but despite being less than 1.5 pounds at birth, his sister did make it and has even prospered thanks to the wonderful care from the Neonatal Unit at St. George's.  She has had a dedicated nurse 24 hours a day and all the staff there have been amazing, always making time to answer our hundreds of questions or if we just needed a smile or a shoulder to cry on.  Quite simply, Ella would not be here without them.  This is all the more amazing as we have not had to pay a penny for this exceptional care which costs £1,200 ($2,000) a day.

Therefore, in memory of our son, Declan Thomas Johnson, we would like to raise money for a piece of equipment at St. George's hospital through the First Touch charity.  This will be donated in his name so his memory will live on to help keep other premature and sick babies, like his sister, alive.

First Touch is the charity that supports the Neonatal Unit at St. George's which cares for over 500 sick and premature babies every year.  The majority of the money raised is spent on vital equipment - incubators, ventilators and critical care monitors.  They also fund specialist nurse development, particularly to ensure expert training on their life-saving equipment.