In December 2021 we were blessed with the arrival of our long awaited twins, Lyla and Iris. They were 33 weeks old and weighed 4lb 1oz and 4lb 2oz. Our beautiful Iris went into renal (kidney) failure shortly after she was born and was urgently transferred to Southampton NICU. After 6 weeks in hospital we were able to take her home, however her kidneys continue to work very poorly.  She has regular follow-up and blood tests with the Renal team in Southampton and so far hasn’t needed renal replacement therapy. The cause of her kidney problems has remained a mystery. We have incredible support from the Renal team including help from their specialist  dieticians, pharmacist, nurse specialist and medical consultants. We are also very grateful to the expert phlebotomists in the Butterfly room who manage to get blood regularly out of Iris’ tricky veins! The future is a little uncertain, however we continue to hope her kidneys will make a reasonable recovery as she grows.

 There are of course too many people to individually name and thank. Since the girls were born I have wondered over and over what I could do to express my gratitude. I have decided one way to show my appreciation is to cycle 100 miles on the 18th June around Hampshire to raise money for the team. I will be doing 5 laps of 20 miles. We would be so grateful for any donations to help us say thank you. If anyone would like to join me on the 18th June for part or all of the ride please get in touch with me personally (hannahksinclair@gmail.com). Thank you!