Dale and Darryll are doing the Thames path challenge on the 10th September 2022 and will be walking 50K whilst raising money for the sick children’s trust 

The story so far:

Many of you may or may not know that Dale’s partner Sam unexpectedly gave birth to twin boys on Christmas day.

Lucas and Leo arrived 2 months early weighing just over 3lb each.Lucas arrived first but needed to be resuscitated.Due to the expertise of the NHS staff,  Lucas was soon breathing and stable.Lucas and Leo spent around 6 weeks in NICU.Whilst Leo thrived , Lucas experience further complications.

Week 2 saw Lucas requiring high flow oxygen to assist with some breathing difficulties.In the following weeks he was discharged with the oxygen which Dale and Sam still manage at home.

 Three weeks after being discharged Sam become very concerned as Lucas was struggling to breathe (even with the oxygen).Sam took Lucas to A & E and within 24 hours Lucas was put onto a ventilator to save his life.He was then transferred to Adenbrooks  to receive the specialist care that he required.He spent 8 weeks there under the care of the PICU team.After undergoing numerous tests the only outcome was that this had been caused by an infection.

He was discharged and sent home with his oxygen.Four weeks later Lucas was admitted again for the same issue.This resulted in him back on a ventilator and back under the PICU team.

This was the case for a further 2 weeks.Still the only diagnosis was an infection.

 Whilst we received a second to none service from our amazing  NHS (and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts), we are also in the debt of the sick children’s trust (Acorn House)This is an amazing charity that supported Dale and Sam whilst Lucas was in intensive care.They provided accommodation where Dale and Sam had their own room and could live in a homely environment.This allowed them to spend time away from the hospital environment and continue with a level of normality.

This charity provide so many families that have sick children with accommodation throughout the country.However Acorn House will always have a special place in our hearts.

The staff and the environment makes you feel very welcome and helped Dale and Sam through such an uncertain time.

 We would like to show our appreciation for this priceless charity by raising as much money as possible for Acorn House.We need to ensure that this charity can carrying on providing support for families whilst their sick children are undergoing treatment.It is important that these families are fully support whilst going through unthinkable situations.

Acorn House will generally use the money to supply families with home comforts  i.e  new bedding, washing powder, kitchen utensils ,toys for the play-room  etc.Basically anything that makes the families feel more at home.

There are no words to describe their care, compassion and support.We would like to thank them for doing an amazing job not only for us but for so many families.

This is our way are giving something back.

 Lucas has had a lot of ups and downs in his little life, but is getting healthier and stronger every day and is now home with his family.He is still on oxygen but improving daily.There is still no real explanation to his illness, but thanks to  Acorn House we know that if we are ever in this situation again we will have an amazing roof over our heads and be close to our little boy.

We thank you in advance for your support and with helping us give something back into this amazing charity.

Good Luck Dale and Darryll!

 Thank you so much for being part of this journey with us.

 Dale, Samantha, Darryll and Gemma

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