We have spent the last two and a half months living between Martha's hospital bedside and the Oxford Ronald Macdonald Charity House at the JR Hospital. Having a room at RMH has made a huge difference to us. For the six weeks when Martha was in the critical care unit and we couldn't stay with her overnight it meant we were still on the hospital site and could be there with a quick phone call when needed overnight. This made the impossibly hard task of saying goodnight and walking away a little bit easier.

 It also meant that the parent who wasn't allowed to be visiting Martha had somewhere to be other than sitting in the car (covid restrictions = only 1 parent visiting at a time). Having a place to sleep, eat, express milk, shower, wash clothes etc. has been invaluable to us.

When Martha moved to the wards Louise was able to stay next to Martha at night, and then go and catch up on sleep at RMH in the day. Also knowing that David was only a short walk and a phone call away was really important to us both.

 It also allowed us to swap over multiple times a day and both spend time with Martha as well as being able to meet with all the amazing medical professionals and teams looking after her (which wouldn't be possible if you were having to commute from home to swap).

When Martha was stable enough to be away from the ward for a bit, but not well enough to come home, we were also able to bring Martha to our room at RMH for a little visit. This allowed us to all be together as a family, and to practice looking after her and her new needs without medical professionals present!

In non- covid times families with more than one child can also bring them to stay at Ronald Macdonald, so the whole family doesn't have to be separated by a child being in hospital. They also run activities for the families who are staying.

In short Ronald Macdonald Houses are a total lifeline for parents and families when a child is in hospital. We would not have been able to get through the last couple of months without them.

All this was provided to us absolutely free (it costs them about £25 a night, and we've been staying for over two and a half months), but we'd like to be able to give something back. Like so many charities COVID-19 has severely hit their fundraising. Lots of you have been asking if there's anything you can do to help us over the last couple of months, or if you can get something for Martha for Christmas. But instead of getting us a Christmas present we'd really appreciate it if you'd be willing to make a donation, however large or small, to the Oxford Ronald Macdonald House Charity.

Love David, Louise and Martha