Izzy’s 28 Miles in 28 Days Challenge

A couple of weeks ago, Izzy was discharged from the care of Dr. Edwards, a wonderful respiratory consultant at New Cross Hospital. Dr. Edwards has been looking after Izzy since she was just 18 months old, when there were initial concerns that she might have Cystic Fibrosis. Fortunately, it was later determined that she is only a carrier of the condition and does not have it. However, she has continued to struggle with her chest, which is why Dr. Edwards has remained her consultant until now.

In addition to Izzy’s care, the New Cross Paeds team has provided exceptional support for her little brother Noah since he was a baby. The number of tests, investigations, and suspected conditions in the early days are too overwhelming to recount here, and honestly, the trauma from it is still very real. Until I can find time to go to therapy and unpack it all I try not to dwell on what a frightening time that was for us. Thankfully, the more serious illnesses were eventually ruled out.

That said, he was diagnosed with a condition called Neutropenia in January 2022, which meant his immune system was compromised. In the early days, whenever he got a fever—something that happens often when you're licking other kids in nursery—we’d have to take him straight to the paediatric assessment unit, sometimes staying for days at a time. The staff there were incredible, doing everything they could to keep him as happy as possible.

Noah has been looked after by Dr. Macken, the paediatric haematologist, in the same outpatients department as Izzy.

Thankfully, he was also discharged a few months ago which was a huge relief.

When we were driving home from Izzy’s last appointment, she got a bit emotional about everything. (Standard Izzy!)

Of course, when Noah was an inpatient, Izzy wasn’t there, so I was telling her about how well he was treated. I mentioned the Play Coordinators who bring toys to the hospital rooms, the outdoor play area we’ve spent many an hour in, the lovely pictures and murals displayed on the walls etc. I suggested that maybe we could donate some old toys she no longer wanted, and that’s when she told me they’d been talking about fundraising at school.

She said she would like to organise an event to raise money for the department so they could use it where it is needed to make things better for the kids who have to be there.

She had a new bike for Christmas and decided she would like to try and ride a mile a day for a month.

She’s mapped out her route (it’s actually 1.2 miles, but who's counting?) and is going to carve out time from her *very busy* social life to ride each day in hopes of raising £200 for the amazing teams who have cared for her and Noah so well over the years.

If you can spare a quid or two, we would be so grateful if you could support her. It would mean the world to Izzy, and you’d be contributing to a truly deserving bunch who have looked after me as much as the kids in all honesty.

Thanks so much for reading.

Vicki x