During the period of March 2022 and June 2022, we will be raising money for the Royal Hampshire County Hampshire's (Winchester) Neo Natal Unit and Ronald McDonald House Charities. As Max was born 12 weeks early, we were incredibly grateful to have received such amazing care and support from the unit and they helped us navigate through a very challenging time. Max has since been admitted back to hospital (Southampton) and spent 3 weeks in intensive care whilst he was on a ventilator and had multiple chest drains for his collapsed lungs. The Ronald McDonald House Charities provided us with accommodation for the whole duration so we could be within 5 minutes’ walk of Max. The accommodation was invaluable and we now want to be able to help other families in a similar situation.

Whilst Max was in Winchester NICU the nurses sent us photos and videos of him when we weren't there using a software called vCreate which was a secure photo and messaging service. They are currently trying to fundraise to fund the licence for vCreate for the next two years and beyond. The cost of the licence is £3,740 every year so I hope we can help with some of this! It was an invaluable resource for us and a huge comfort to receive a photo in the middle of the night (when Ruth was up pumping!) or first thing in the morning to wake up to. They are also fundraising for new equipment for the unit, including a new ventilator.

As mentioned above, Ronald McDonald House Charities (https://rmhc.org.uk/) put us up for Max's stay in Southampton ICU. By donating £25, this will support one family for a night in any of their accommodation houses. Every year they help over 6,000 families stay close to their children in hospital.

If you would like to, we would love your help in helping us fundraise at some point between March and June and share this link with your family and friends. Whether you chose to have a cake sale, grow a beard or run a marathon, we would love to hear what you plan to do. Ben is walking the South Downs Way (100 miles) over 3 days in mid June, finishing at Winchester Hospital. We have also set up an Instagram account which we hope to share what we all get up to @mightymaxmission

Thank you, love Ben, Ruth and Max xx