Good morning, afternoon, evening and night.

Firstly we would like thank you for taking the time in reading the below. It really does mean alot to us.

In July 2024, we gave birth to our beautiful son Douglas. Lots of cuddles, kisses and the joys of bringing Dougie home to meet his big sister and our adorable Phoebe we will always be grateful for. We love them both dearly.

All of a sudden, Day 4 of life, Dougie lost consciousness and was rushed into hospital. Watching our new born baby lose consciousness, put on vapor machines, CPap machines, having ECG'S, lumber puncher, MRI, chest x-rays, heart scans, cannulas, feeding tubes and so many antibiotics pumped into him we have never felt so helpless. We will be forever grateful for the support we received from family and friends and with all the help from Skylark Ward, everyone involved and KGH following a couple of weeks in hospital we finally had some answers. Dougie has Adrenal Insufficiency / Addison's Disease which is a potential life-threatening condition where the adrenal glands don't produce enough cortisol and effects his fight or flight response.

Dougie is still going through regular testing and continuous appointments under Great Ormond Street Hospital and KGH to figure out what's going on.

What dougie's day to day looks like,

Taking X3 a day hydrocortisone (steroids)

Emergency injection in case of an adrenal crisis and most importantly making sure we follow the Sick Day Rules increasing the dosage accordingly.

Alongside whatever entertainment Phoebe may bring that day being the big sister. Snotting, dribbling, laughing, and the usual duties of being a little brother and getting up to mischief.

This has been such a tough journey for us so far and we're hoping with more research and better understanding, it will only become easier and Dougie will go on to live a healthy life living on his steroids.

Thank you for your time in reading this and I hope we can make a difference together not only for our Dougie but for others too.

If you would like to join in with our 24 hour gym session for research and awareness then please let us know and we'll share the location, confirm the time and dates nearer to the time.

We are aiming for October 2025, in Market Harborough.

Thank you again for all your support.

Kelsey & Joe

*** EVENT LOCATION: Bruno's Gym. Market Harborough

55 Western Ave, Market Harborough LE16 9PL

OCTOBER 18TH 2025 - 10AM START

OCTOBER 19TH 2025 - 10AM FINISH ***

At the Addison’s Disease Self-Help Group (ADSHG) we support everyone affected by Addison’s disease and adrenal insufficiency.

We work to:

- support our community and their healthcare providers

- enhance better medical understanding

- promote effective management

- fund vital research

Thanks to fundraising we can continue our vital work. Every penny and pound raised can make a big difference to our small charity!