Elliott was born on 20th March 2024. 🤍

The birth of your child is meant to be the best day of your life. It was for us — until it wasn’t.

Elliott was starved of oxygen during birth, causing a lack of oxygen and blood flow to his brain. This resulted in significant brain damage and a diagnosis of Grade 3 Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).

He was placed into therapeutic hypothermia — also known as cooling treatment — to slow the toxins forming in his brain and prevent further damage.

Instead of bonding as a new family, Elliott was urgently transferred to the higher-level NICU at Arrowe Park Hospital to receive critical care. He was critically ill and deteriorating quickly. He underwent countless procedures, was resuscitated multiple times, and was on more medications than we could keep track of.

As a family, we had nowhere to go. We were miles and miles away from home 💔

Jake was exhausted and traumatised. I was freshly postpartum after a very traumatic birth. But none of that mattered. Elliott mattered.

We were prepared to sleep in the car or on plastic chairs beside his incubator, just to be near our baby.

Then Ronald McDonald House Charities reached out to us. 💕

As soon as Jake arrived at Arrowe Park, they called and welcomed him with open arms, offering him a room for the day so he could rest even though all the bedrooms were full. After a traumatic night on the post natal ward surrounded by mothers and their newborns, they then made us their number one priority.

Within a day or two, we were given a room. It quickly became our safe space — and a safe space for our visiting family too.

We could shower. Wash our clothes. Cook our own meals. Small comforts that made an unbearable time just that little bit easier.

And the staff — wow. Absolute angels.

They guided us through the darkest days of our lives. They supported not only us, but our wider family too. They provided us with private spaces. They made sure we ate and drank. They were always there to help and support us. All day, everyday.

They weren’t strangers for long — they became family.

That is why myself (Jess) and sister (Maddy) have decided to jump out of an airplane and skydive in aid of Ronald McDonald House.

They gave us everything when we had nothing — and expected nothing in return.

So now it’s my turn (with my little sister by my side!) to do something brave. To show just how much this charity means to us. And to honour the incredible staff at Ronald McDonald House Arrowe Park who gave us the strength to keep going when we needed it most.

Please, if you can, donate.

So that families like ours have somewhere safe to sleep.
Somewhere to switch off.
Somewhere to breathe.
Somewhere close to their poorly babies and children when they need it most.

When your child is fighting for their life, nothing else matters. Not sleep. Not food. Not even your own recovery. All you want is to be close to them.

And that’s exactly what Ronald McDonald House makes possible.

Thank you for reading our story.

Now… let’s jump out of a plane ✈️💛