As many of you know, my beautiful niece Sophia Rose was born on my wedding day in June 2016. It was and always will be an incredible day for our family and a day we will never forget!

Sophia was born in the early evening on that Saturday and my husband Tom and I were lucky enough to visit her in hospital the following day before we jetted off on our honeymoon. In the days that followed Sophia’s birth she became very poorly and it became clear that Sophia was unable to receive the specialist treatment she required at our local hospital in South Wales. My sister Laura and her husband Aaron faced the very difficult position of Sophia being transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to receive the emergency care she so desperately needed.

This is where Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham stepped in; they not only provided accommodation to Laura and Aaron whilst Sophia remained in hospital but gave vital support to Laura and Aaron as a new family when they needed it the most. Staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham meant that Laura and Aaron could stay with Sophia 24 hours a day providing a home away from home. Sophia remained in Birmingham Children’s Hospital for a period of time before she was transferred back to our local hospital and eventually went home with Laura and Aaron to meet the other member of their family Cica the cat.

Our family will forever be grateful to the care that was provided not only by Birmingham Children’s Hospital but Ronald McDonald House Charities.