Ellen's Daddy, Scott Brewer and our dear friend Anna Chan have successfully completed sponsored swims to raise funds for the Paediatric A&E unit at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, Surrey to purchase new equipment in memory of our beloved daughter Ellen. Ellen suddenly passed away at the age of 9 months and 10 days to Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) on 18th June 2018.

Anna's swimathon of 2.5km was completed on 13th October 2019 at David Lloyd in Cheam. Scott's 2.5km swimathon was completed on 20th October 2019 at Cheam Leisure Centre.  A sponsored swim seemed like the perfect choice as Ellen was a real water baby and took delight in splashing and kicking in the bath or paddling pool! 

The specific piece of equipment that we are raising funds for is a baby/child manikin which will be named “Ellen” and used by the Paediatric A&E staff to train in the simulation of emergency situations. Simulation is a way that doctors and nurses train for emergency scenarios using manikins and real life time action. This is a very useful way to test teamwork and skills of staff for almost any clinical scenario, to be prepared for when the real-life emergency occurs. Manikins are very hi-tech, they can move, groan, blink, change colour and even breathe. Real life monitors can be controlled such as heart-rate, oxygen levels and blood pressure. The cost of the manikin is £2,500.  

In addition to the above, we would like to raise funds to purchase two pieces of vital equipment for the hospital; firstly a portable blood pressure and pulse monitor (Dinamap Machine) for the Children's Day Surgery unit at the cost of £1,500. Secondly, the Children's Ward is in need of a Breast Feeding Pump and comfortable reclining chair at a further cost of £2,000.

Ellen's story

Ellen was the healthiest and happiest little girl, full of life and energy. She had all the vaccinations required and until the day of her passing, she had only been to the doctors once with colic. On the day she passed away, she was tearful, very tired, disinterested in food or toys and vomited several times. What struck us the most was that her eyes looked different. At one point we said she looked like a different child.

After checking all of her vital signs, which were normal, the doctor diagnosed that Ellen had a tummy bug which should get better within two to three days but to monitor her alertness and if we were to be further concerned, to take her to Children’s A&E. Less than two hours later, having administered the prescribed rehydration remedy, Ellen seemed to have improved. However, shortly after this, we called for an ambulance as she had become listless, extremely drowsy and unable to support her head. Ellen collapsed in her Daddy’s arms and despite his, the paramedics and the hospital resuscitation teams’ attempts using CPR, Ellen could not be saved.

We cannot thank the Paediatric A&E team at St Helier Hospital enough for what they did for Ellen on the night. They worked incredibly hard under the most traumatic circumstances. The team asked to meet with us after we'd received the coroner's report to discuss anything we didn't understand and to give us a chance to ask any questions that we had. They provided us with such support and comfort in our time of need and we would like to show them our appreciation and offer our sincere thanks by fundraising for equipment which may be able to help other children and their families in the future. 

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