In November 2023, our family was blessed with the arrival of its newest member, my nephew, Freddie. Freddie (now 15 months old) is a quiet and playful toddler, and we share many common interests, but mainly our large appetites.

However, Freddie’s early life hasn’t come without challenge, at just 4 weeks old, he was admitted to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in December 2023 after feeling unwell for a number of days, and shortly diagnosed with a life threatening strep virus. Two surgeries, numerous antibiotics and several weeks in hospital later, Freddie fought off the virus with immense resilience and strength. We were fortunate enough to be able to share our Christmas with Freddie on day release, before he was fully discharged shortly after to continue his recovery to his happy self at home.

Throughout this journey, Freddie spent 3 weeks at Alder Hey, where the staff were exceptional in supporting him and the wider family on his recovery journey, for which we will be eternally grateful.

Since then, Freddie had started to take huge steps in his development at home, but unfortunately - 1 year after he had been admitted to hospital in 2023, Freddie was readmitted to Warrington Hospital after falling ill again. Unfortunately, he had this time been diagnosed with Meningitis, a bacterial infection which is extremely dangerous to everyone, particularly young children. Yet again, following weeks of painful treatment, Freddie showed his amazing resilience and with the odds stacked against him, made an unbelievable recovery. We are extremely thankful for the support offered by Warrington Hospital, as well as the advisory support provided by Alder Hey during this time.

We feel extremely lucky for the care and support Freddie has received in his early life, and continually awe at the strength he has shown over this time. Freddie is currently learning to take his first steps at home!

I’ll be hoping to channel some of Freddie’s strength as I take on Manchester Marathon on 27th April, raising money for Alder Hey Children’s charity, any donations you are able to make are hugely appreciated.