Me and my brother ross are going to be completing the three peaks of wales in support of ‘Friends of PICU’ the reason i have chosen this charity is because of my son Henry.

when we attended our 20 wks scan at salisbury hospital they noticed some abnormalities with Henry heart.

After being referred to Southampton princess Ann maternity hospital with a cardiologist, henry was diagnosed with hypertension arch and coarctation of the aorta.

This meant once Henry was born there would be limited blood flow to his lower organs and legs, which would be fatal without a heart operation.

On 30th July 2025, Henry was born and 3 weeks later he would undergo open heart surgery to fix aorta valve, which was a huge success!

Though the journey as a family was very hard, mentally and emotionally. We had amazing support from staff at PICU, not only providing the care after Henry’s surgery and recovery but supporting both myself and my wife as new parents.

So to say our thanks and gratitude for saving our baby boy, I wish to donate to Friend with PICU as they provided food, emergency accommodation opposite the PICU unit before and after the surgery and someone to talk too.

This charity is helping to support the NHS and provide the very best of care to Critically ill Children and their families at the regional Intensive Care Unit at Southampton University Hospital. The unit cares for children from across the South of England and Channel Islands.