Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Our beautiful baby boy Lucas was born on the morning of the 22nd March 2018 at 36 weeks + 2 days. We held him in our arms and we fell instantly in love.... he was perfect!

We had travelled all the way up from Truro, Cornwall to Bristol, when Lucas decided to make his appearance and he was born unexpectedly at Southmead hospital. Then he was transferred to St. Michael's Hospital as our gorgeous little boy was showing signs that he was getting poorly. St. Michael's Hospital is the leading Neonatal Specialist Hospital in the South West and this is where we were first introduced to the wonderful charity named Cots For Tots.

The next four weeks of Lucas's life were spent at St. Michael's Hospital and despite two lumbar punctures, dozens of heel pricks, blood tests, canula's and long lines, the one thing that kept the people that were at his bedside going was the overwhelming love he had for everyone, including the doctors and nurses. This was clearly visible in his eyes, but it was also visible in his alertness and his curiosity for the outside world. He was noticeably tired of the ongoing battle with this unknown illness, but when he was awake he was as bright as a button. He would look around for mummy and daddy whenever he heard their voices and he also recognised the voice of his proud older sister Emilia. 

Lucas was a fighter, he fought bravely for every single one of the 31 days of his short life. He wasn't allowed to receive any pain relief due to the fragile state of his liver, the fluid in his abdomen meant that he never took a full breath of air and his breathing was shallow and short. Lucas sadly lost his battle and passed away on the 22nd April 2018.

We were a family of four, even if only for 1 month, we were a family. We would all read him stories, sing songs and dance around the room. We love him so much and have so many memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. These irreplaceable moments would not have been possible without the support of the charity 'Cots for Tots'. They enabled my husband and I to live with our two year old daughter in the Cots for tots house, which was directly opposite the hospital entrance. This allowed us to be with our beautiful baby boy at anytime day or night. I could be his mummy, his dad could be his daddy and his big sister could be the best big sister that you could ever hope for.

No words will ever be able to express how grateful we are to the charity Cots For Tots for providing us with a home from home and to the wonderful doctors and nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Michael's Hospital in Bristol for the impeccable care they provided to our son, Lucas.

It is only when you are in a situation like this, that you realise how invaluable charities like these are and this is why we have set up Lucas's tribute fund to help other families and babies who may have to spend time at St. Michael's Hospital. This will provide families with accommodation whilst their babies are in Neonatal Intensive Care and also to provide specialist equipment for the babies in the unit.

We would welcome any donations that can be made, big or small, in order to help this charity continue doing the wonderful work that it does.

Thank you so much for your kind donations.

Nicki, Andres, Emilia and Angel Lucas