Our beautiful baby boy Lucas, was born at 37 weeks, on Wednesday 22nd March 2023 at 16.16. Weighing 7.5lbs. With a thick mop of dark brown hair and the most beautiful long fingers, he was just perfect. He made Eleanor a big sister and she is so proud of her little brother. 

Shortly after Lucas was born he had to be taken immediately to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) due to breathing complications and concerns regarding his airway which meant we were unable to meet him straight away. That evening we were told Lucas would need a life-saving operation the following morning to repair a tracheoesophageal fistula. Our little fighter battled through the night and survived the operation to repair the abnormal connection between his oesophagus and trachea. We were warned the next 48-72 hours were critical and it became very clear just how poorly our little boy was. 

Lucas remained stable during this time and although it took longer than we had all hoped, much to the amazement of the wonderful consultants our little fighter made small amounts of progress. He gave us hope. The two days that followed were his best two days and our little monkey even wriggled his little fingers for Fran; we cautiously began to think he may be able to make it through to his next operation which he'd need to correct his oesophagus. 

However, our brave little boy was tired and just too poorly. In the very early hours of Thursday 30th we were called by NICU and stayed with Lucas until they turned his machines off. Our little boy died peacefully and without pain at just 8 days old. We spent that day holding him close and reading him his favourite story 'On the night you were born'. No one was prouder than his big sister, Eleanor, who read to him daily, helped the nurses care for him, drew pictures for his bedside and finally got the cuddle she'd been desperate for since the day he was born. 

We would like to raise as much money as possible for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit team at Southampton Hospital because they were incredible from the minute Lucas arrived. The professionalism, compassion and love shown towards Lucas, but also both of our families, was remarkable and is something we shall never forget. At a time when we needed it most, we could not have envisaged greater support and love by everyone at the NICU and we want to thank them by raising as much money as possible so that they can continue to support babies like Lucas in the future. We will never be able to thank them enough for what they did for us but we hope that by doing this we will create a legacy in Lucas' name.

Thank you for reading this far and thank you for your support.
Tom, Fran, Eleanor and Lucas x
#LWGC #LUCASLEGACY

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which provides specialist care to sick term and pre-term (premature) newborn babies. The state-of-the-art facility is located at the Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton. This has 37 baby cots, 23 intensive/high dependency cots and 14 special care cots. It is one of the largest neonatal units in the country treating around 900 babies each year, from Southampton, Poole & Bournemouth, Chichester, Dorchester, Basingstoke, the Isle of Wight, Salisbury, Winchester and the Channel Islands. Money raised could go towards new equipment, more resources for families, improvements to parent facilities or additional staff training. All of which could help to improve the unit even further, ensuring babies and families receive the best care possible.