Thank you for visiting our fundraising page in memory of Leo. 

Leo was born on the 22nd of January, 2021 and we got to spend a glorious 165 days with him until his passing on the 6th of July, 2021.

We spent most of Leo's life as a family together at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (GOSH) and, as a part of Leo's legacy, we would like to invite you all to help us raise money for all of the incredible teams at GOSH who held our family up in our time of need.

The nurses, doctors, consultants, specialists and all the other amazing people and teams we’ve collected along the way are all such a significant part of Leo’s story and we would like to give back to the hospital by way of raising funds for essential equipment, support, accommodation and resources to help other children and families in need.

Leo had a fight in him that stumped us all. His eagerness to keep on going in the face of adversity was inspirational and many of those around us have often mentioned that it was at times easy to forget how ill he was due to his determination. 

His strength is our inspiration, particularly as we grieve his physical presence and we are passionate about Leo living on by way of continuing to make a difference. 

We have set an initial target of £3,300...20 times the number of days he was with us and in hospital - and will be allocating a significant chunk of this directly to the NICU at GOSH which was our home. 

Thanks to GOSH, we were made to feel safe and at home enabling us to make precious memories together.  Here are just a few of the ways GOSH have gone above and beyond for us:

• Our wedding: We were married on the NICU with Leo as our Best Man on the 26th of May. This was a dream come true as we had always wanted Leo present. We always imagined him toddling down the aisle for our special day however GOSH made this dream their priority when it became increasingly more clear Leo's time with us was limited.
• Staying nearby: With the help of the GOSH charity we were able to stay a 5 minute walk from the hospital throughout Leo's whole stay. This meant we were able to maximise our time with him by his bedside and also be close for any emergencies.
• Staying in the bereavement suite on the ward: Words can't express how it felt to have Leo by our side overnight for the first time. The two weeks we spent here as a family were the most special weeks of our lives! Sleepless nights were rewarded with morning snuggles in bed together sipping morning coffees. We may have never spent the night with Leo if it wasn't for the kindness and generosity of the NICU team and GOSH!
• Adventures: Leo had a custom buggy wheelchair made for him so that we could enjoy one of our wishes of taking him outside. We would have lunch at the rooftop garden at GOSH and even took him for walks to the local park to see the birds and doggies!
• Leo's funeral: The Chaplaincy team were a huge support to our family since getting involved with our nuptials. It was only fitting that Leo was farewelled surrounded by those who have been a part of his journey and we said goodbye to our brave little lion in the chapel at GOSH - a funeral fit for a king! 

Whilst it would be our wish to be able to create and share more moments like this with our gorgeous boy, we accept that this isn’t the path we’re able to walk down together. Although our hearts are hurting they are also bursting with pride in our son. 

With that, we invite you all to think about the legacy Leo has left us and help us to grow this legacy in his name. He has shown us what is most important in life - strength, resilience, the ability to not take things too seriously, family, friends, to always have a laugh, not to stress the little things and, most importantly, to love. To love unconditionally with everything you have as if each day may be the last.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any contributions, it means more than words can express. 

With love, 

The Kulaga's X X x

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