Reuben James whitehead

Reuben was born at 24 weeks –a little preemie miracle who has recently turned 6 years old.

He has been in and out of hospital since he was born sometimes spending months at a time admitted to Kings in London. He has been under general anesthetic 66 times for different operations and treatments

His Mum and Dad, Janine and Allan are known to be the longest residents as part of the Ronald McDonald charity who provide accommodation for families during children’s stays in hospital so it gives an idea of the length of time little Reuben has spent in hospital care.

Since he was born, he has been very poorly. He has a Hickman line, a stoma bag, peg among other things.

He has nil by mouth so needs TPN (total parenteral nutrition) every day to keep him hydrated and fed, he is attached to his TPN for up to 16 hours a day and must stay in his cot.

Reuben has been hospitalised with sepsis 13 times. He has now been diagnosed with underlying sepsis so any common cold or illness can escalate and lead to readmission to hospital for treatment.

Reuben has Cerebral palsy, and also has seizures which means he gets rushed in by an ambulance and stops breathing. he has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and also autism. Reuben is also under Demelza hospice which provides some respite care.

Reuben is possibly going to need a liver transplant as the medication/feed he has daily cause damage to his liver and kidneys.

Due to Reubens condition it makes it very difficult for him to sleep and he needs 24/7 care

He has recently been provided with carers and nurses who stay with him overnight to care for him but due to space and equipment they currently have this is quite difficult.

WHAT WE ARE RAISING FUNDS FOR;

Reuben is in need of additional space for a specialist bed, bath and other medical equipment as well as space for his nurses to stay with him overnight.

Reuben’s dad Allan is a carpenter by trade and has begun works on a loft conversion to reconfigure their family home to create the space that Reuben needs and allow for him to be cared for at home, however been unable to finish it.

Allan works as many hours as he possibly can to provide for his family but also regularly has to pass on work due to Reuben’s needs and frequent trips to hospital due to medical emergencies.

We have set up this just giving page to try to provide a helping hand to the Whitehead family to achieve their goal of creating adequate space to care for Reuben.

Any monies raised will go directly to the family to fund any costs associated with completing the build. Any donations, big or small are gratefully received.

Thank you ❤️

Grace & Aimee