Story
I am raising money in memory of my friends little boy Thomas Leslie Swain (pictured above).
Thomas Leslie was born in Burnley on 3rd February 2016 at just 23 week’s gestation weighing a tiny 1 pound 3 ounces.
In March 2016 at just 5 weeks old Thomas was transferred to St Mary’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Manchester after being diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). This is a life threatening condition that affects the bowels.
Thomas stayed in Manchester NICU for 5 months and during that time Thomas’s Mum (Jolene) stayed at Ronald McDonald House and Thomas’s Dad (Chris) commuted from Burnley to Manchester every night after work and stayed there with her at the weekend. Ronald McDonald House enabled Thomas’s parents to be by his side every waking hour and provided them with home from home accommodation free of charge.
It costs the charity £25 per night to provide a family with accommodation which includes an en-suite bedroom with kitchen and laundry facilities.
Thomas’s parents were so grateful to be near to their son at such a critical time. Without the support of Ronald McDonald House Manchester Thomas’s parents would have struggled on both a financial and practical basis to be near their son.
Amazingly, Thomas was discharged from NICU in July 2016 after a difficult journey, defying all the odds.
Thomas’s parents later had to rely on Ronald McDonald House in September 2016 when after being at home for just 6 weeks Thomas again was diagnosed with NEC. They spent a further 5 weeks at the house whilst he recovered in hospital again proving how invaluable the charity was to them.
Thomas bravely overcame the condition and returned home a happy, thriving little boy. Thomas’s parents really believed that Thomas’s recovery was helped by the fact that they could be near him to offer love and care when he really needed it.
Sadly Jolene & Chris lost their brave baby boy unexpectedly in December 2016 aged just 10 months, after suffering with complications relating to reflux.
They would like to raise enough money to sponsor a room at the house in Thomas’s memory by supporting and taking part in fundraising events.
By donating to this page the money raised will go towards helping other families in similar situations be near their children whilst they are receiving care in hospital.
Here is a link to what I have let myself in for: https://toughmudder.co.uk/events/europes-toughest-mudder
Here's the list of obstacles: https://toughmudder.co.uk/obstacles?utm_source=TMeautomated&utm_medium=UKemail&utm_content=newcustomers&utm_campaign=2017TMWelcomeSeries2
A small paragraph about RMcDH:
The Charity was started in the UK in 1989 and is determined to help as many families as possible stay close to their sick child and to maintain a degree of normal life. There are 15 Ronald McDonald Houses and over 25 sets of Family rooms across the UK. Together, they provide more than 450 bedrooms for families with seriously ill children.
Here is a link to the manchester house website if you'd like to know more:
http://www.rmhc.org.uk/our-houses/manchester/
Thank you so much for reading this and an even bigger thank you if you chose to make a donation.
Callam