Hey everyone,

I’ll be abseiling 100ft down the Golden Jubilee Wing at King’s College Hospital on Saturday 12th September at 11am alongside my koumbaro Erda to raise money for a place that changed our lives forever.

As many of you know, our oldest son Leonidas spent a long and difficult time in the NICU there after being born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

When people hear the word “hernia,” they often think of something relatively minor. But CDH is completely different. It’s a rare and life-threatening condition where a hole in the diaphragm allows organs from the abdomen to move into the chest cavity while the baby is developing in the womb. In Leonidas’ case, his stomach and other organs had moved into his chest, leaving almost no room for his lungs to grow properly.

His case was severe.

Leonidas was born with only around 30% lung capacity and was given just a 20–30% chance of survival.

Nothing prepares you for hearing those words about your own child.

From the moment he was born, an entire team rushed into action. He was immediately ventilated and taken straight to NICU, where the fight for his life began. Every hour felt uncertain. Every machine, every alarm, every conversation with doctors carried the weight of hope and fear all at once.

On day 5, Leonidas underwent a 6-hour surgery. Surgeons had to open his chest, carefully move his organs back into place, and stitch a Gore-Tex patch to his ribs to create a man-made diaphragm.

But the operation was only the beginning.

Even after his body was physically repaired, his tiny lungs were still dangerously underdeveloped, and his body had just endured major life-threatening surgery. The days and weeks that followed were some of the hardest of our lives. We watched him fight every single day — through tubes, ventilators, medications, setbacks, and uncertainty.

And somehow, our little warrior kept going.

Week by week, Leonidas grew stronger. Against the odds, he showed everyone just how determined he was to live.

Without the incredible knowledge, dedication, and care from the team at King’s College Hospital, we truly don’t know what would have happened. The doctors, surgeons, nurses, and staff didn’t just care for Leonidas — they carried our entire family through the darkest time of our lives.

Even now, King’s continues to support us through follow-up appointments with consultants and surgeons, and they’ve even opened their own specialist CDH clinic to help families facing the same terrifying journey.

Me, my wife Karina, and Leonidas’ brother Emilio and sister Elena will never be able to fully repay what King’s has done for our family — but this is our way of trying.

Every donation, no matter how small, helps support innovative research, pioneering treatments, life-saving equipment, specialist facilities, and the incredible NHS staff who work tirelessly to give children like Leonidas a chance at life.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading, supporting, donating, or even just sharing this post.

Leonidas is here today because people refused to give up on him.

Now we want to give something back.