Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The support both we and Thomas received from all the staff at NICU really was amazing. Until you are actually living it you have no idea what to expect from life on the unit. All the staff but particularly the doctors and nurses directly involved with Thomas helped us get through this with their care, professionalism, compassion and support. They really did all they could for Thomas and helped keep me sane with all the random conversations, laughter and banter (especially in the middle of the night) and explanations as to what was going on with Thomas and what the next steps would be etc.

Because of this and what they helped us get through we wanted to help give something back to them and thought that trying to do some fundraising for their charity would be a good starting point, so please give as much or as little as you are able and know that it will be used to help babies and parents who are going through the most difficult of times.

I've written a bit more about our story below:

Thomas was born at 14:33 on the 10th March 2016 at 26 weeks 6 days (that's 13 weeks and 1 day early) at Scunthorpe General Hospital, the staff here were fantastic and got us through the unexpected labour and Thomas' first hours of life. He was transferred to the Jessop Wing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield that night by the brilliant Embrace team.

The Jessop Wing is where Thomas and I (Jess - his mummy) stayed for 12 rollercoaster weeks and Dan (his daddy) came every opportunity he could while trying to get things ready at home for Thomas and also being at work.

As he was so premature Thomas had a lot of issues to contend with but the main problem was his lungs. The staff tried everything they could to get them working properly but after some initial progress they just didn't improve. 

After a few little episodes and further complications with some of the other things Thomas had going on, we decided following discussions with the staff that Thomas wasn't going to get better and that he was actually getting worse. The kindest thing we could do for Thomas at that stage was to remove him from the ventilator and let him pass away peacefully.

This has to be the hardest and most devastating decision we have ever had to make, but we know it was the right one for Thomas. Unfortunately he was fighting a battle he ultimately was not able to win but he gave it a good go and amazed us each and every day with his resilience and bravery.

So, after plenty of cuddles and kisses we said goodbye to our wonderful little boy on the 2nd June 2016. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.