So many people have been touched by the miracle of Robins story that we have decided to set up this page for those who would like to support the amazing work SHINE do throughout Northern Ireland.

When we were informed at our 22 week scan that Robin would be born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus we were heartbroken. Although we knew absolutely nothing about these conditions, the prognosis we were given left us feeling that our baby was going to have a terrible quality of life.

Thankfully, after meeting with Marie, we started to understand that having a baby with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, while being challenging, was not the end of the world.

Through SHINE we met other parents, who were happy to share their experiences with us. We were also helped to more fully understand the implications of these conditions for our baby, and for ourselves.

We were introduced to the doctors and nurses who would be working with our baby after she was born and were shown around the Childrens Hospital, this really helped us.

The support we received during Robins surgeries was so important, as first-time parents we were completely lost.

Our beautiful girl is now seven months old, has been through a number of surgeries but is now home and doing really well.

The continued support we receive from SHINE, answering our questions, providing us with opportunities to meet other parents and just being there for us has made the last year so different from what we thought we faced during those first weeks after the scan.