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Some of you will know that Nicola's little girl, Arabella, was very poorly earlier in the year and was admitted to hospital with Bronchiolitis and Pneumonia.  Unfortunately there were complications arising from her illness, and she was required to have emergency surgery.  She was subsequently referred to the Intensive Care Unit at Addenbrooks where she was placed on life support for a number of days.

Thankfully, Bella was very well looked after and made a full recovery.  The staff in the NHS provided her with the most professional, attentive and thorough care, without exception. 

Alongside this, Nicola and her family benefited from the support of an amazing charity - The Sick Children's Trust.  They provided Nicola's family with 'home from home' accommodation, as well as emotional and practical support, enabling them to be close to Bella at a time when she needed her family the most.  The onsite accommodation, which was only a five minute walk from the ICU,  was outstanding and provided a base for Nicola's family to stay and visit.  Along with an amazing array of facilities for use by parents staying at the house, there was also a direct line to the ICU so that updates could be provided at any time of day or night.  All of this was provided free of charge.  

It is the belief of this charity, that was founded by two paediatric specialists, that keeping families together significantly improves the recovery of seriously ill children.  On average, 2 million children in the UK require hospital treatment each year. Every day, children are diagnosed with serious and life-threatening illnesses or have terrible accidents that leave them fighting for their lives. They often have to be transferred to specialist hospitals far from home to receive critical medical treatment. Life for their whole family is suddenly thrown into complete turmoil.

The charity works with the hospitals, supporting them in their role and providing complementary support to the families. It relieves some of the emotional and financial strains at a very stressful time, providing an essential service free of charge for up to 146 families every night, 365 days a year.

Its costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night and it relies upon voluntary income to meet this cost. There are many families that could be not be with their children if it wasn't for this charity and we therefore ask for your support in making a donation to this wonderful cause. 

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.