It is a sad fact that having a seriously ill child in hospital long term is incredibly expensive.

Parents are not provided with food and often cannot leave their childs bedside for long enough to prepare a decent meal, so end up relying on convenience food, as and when they get the chance to eat.

Parking in hospitals is horrendously expensive. It takes months to get through the application process for a blue badge and during those months the parking bill can add up to thousands!

Fuel to and from the hospital is another burden that cripples many families, often leaving parents having to choose which parent stays with their child, as the cost of getting to the hospital regularly is insurmountable.

Taxi fares for families that do not drive soon add up and public transport is not usually a viable option, as it is too risky for most seriously ill children with suppressed immune systems.

These are just the everyday costs, not even taking into account that a child will quite often need treatment in another city, or even a different country.

All of this, and more, at a time when most families will have lost at least one household income to care for their child is unimaginably stressful, but is just another stress that families with seriously ill children have to face on a daily basis.

With your help, The Little Ted Foundation will provide a grant to families who have been in hospital with their child for longer than 2 weeks. These grants will go some way towards helping ease the financial burden that families are faced with and ease one of the stresses that a family with a seriously ill child has to cope with.