For Mighty Marley & For Every Family Still Fighting

Little Marley was born on the 2nd of December 2023. For the first 24 hours, she appeared perfectly healthy, but then everything changed. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she was rushed to the NICU, where we were given the devastating news that her heart wasn’t working properly and it wasn't looking good.

The Children’s Acute Transport ambulance team was called to move her five minutes down the road to Royal Brompton Hospital, but that short journey took over eight hours to prepare for. Due to the life-saving medications she was on, it took hours to safely transfer her IVs. We were told there was a high chance she wouldn’t survive the journey.

But she did.

Once at Royal Brompton, Marley was placed on ECMO, a heart and lung bypass machine. The doctors warned us again that she probably wouldn’t survive.

But she did.

ECMO gave the medical team time to figure out what was wrong. They discovered a blocked artery, which they were able to clear. Nine days later, Marley came off ECMO, and for a while, things seemed hopeful. But soon after, she began to deteriorate again. Her heart had been too damaged by the lack of blood flow, and we found ourselves back in another devastating chapter.

We spent five agonising months with her in intensive care, where every single day was a battle. Her heart function was just 10%, and she fought through infections and complications. Though she is with us today, we said goodbye to her more times than I can count.

Through it all, one constant was the Brompton Fountain.

While the medical teams focused on saving Marley, the Brompton Fountain supported us, her family. In a world of wires, machines, and clinical decisions, they gave us a sense of calm, comfort, and even normalcy. They understood the fear, the waiting, the exhaustion and they were simply there in ways that truly mattered.

With no other treatment options left, Marley was placed on the heart transplant list. We were told her chances of receiving a donor heart were nearly non-existent due to her tiny size. So we waited. We held her hand and waited for what lay ahead of us. One doctor said to me, “You just need to hold her hand and go where she goes.”

On the 24th of March, my birthday, we received the call saying a donor heart was available. Marley was transferred to Great Ormond Street for the transplant, and just five weeks later… she came home.

Marley was given the gift of life by a family enduring unimaginable loss. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of them, and I’m in awe of their incredible generosity and strength in the darkest moment of their lives. Their beautiful little boy's heart beats on in Marley, and I will do everything in my power to ensure she lives a life filled with love, purpose and adventure, for both of them.

Marley demonstrates that sorrow and joy can exist side by side, that even in the most painful times, love is the greatest and most rewarding experience we can have. And most of all, that where there is life, there is always hope, even when everything feels hopeless.

Surviving, in every sense, is about so much more than just not dying. It’s about recognising how lucky you truly are to have been given a chance that someone else didn’t get. It’s about learning to love the world again, feeling safe within it, and embracing life with everything you have.

In her short time here, Marley has enriched my life and the lives of so many others more than I could have imagined. She’s survived every moment we were told she wouldn’t; with grit, determination, and the gentlest spirit. Her silly sense of humour and playful spirit are pure joy, and I can’t wait to see the adventures her tiny legs will carry her on.

This year, Lucy, Henry Manning, Chris Beggs, Sophie Webb, John Alvarez, Jonno Forbes, Jonathan Mudd, Christen Savage, Nick Gill, Fergus Bibby, George Smyly, Jonny Cuthbert, Charlotte Bird, Stuart Hoddinott, Chris Baker, Joey Mahon, Jack Sheehy and Olivia Milne will be taking on the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for the Brompton Fountain.

We want to help make sure that other families facing the unimaginable receive the same support, kindness and care that we did.

Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help the Brompton Fountain continue the vital work they do for children and families at Royal Brompton.

And thanks to additional support from Brit Insurance, every pound donated will be tripled, meaning a £1 donation becomes £3 for the Brompton Fountain.

If Marley's story has touched you, please consider donating. Every contribution will help give other families a little more comfort and support during some of the hardest days of their lives.