Our son Teddy was born at the end of June 2020 and from that moment on, The Grand Appeal has been there for us.

Teddy was born with congenital heart disease, which we found out about during the pregnancy so knew from the start there was going to be some time spent in hospital to fix his heart before we could take him home.

During the first few days of his life, we were housed in Cots for Tots while he was in NICU at St Michaels hospital. We then went in to another grand appeal house when he was moved down to the Children's hospital where he had his first open heart surgery at 7 days old and stayed for the first month of his life until he was well enough and we could take him home!

Being able to be so close to the hospital during this time meant the world to myself and Kirsty and just made everything slightly easier. It gave us a space to be able to get away from hospital life to go and get some rest or cook a meal with the comfort of only being minutes away from Teddy. It's also a great place to meet and chat with other parents going through the same experience. The houses really do feel like a hub where you can support each other to get through the most challenging of times.

We have since been back to the Children's hospital for 2 further open heart surgeries in Feb 2021 and Dec 2021 and most recently over New Year this year for a further surgery where Teddy had a pacemaker fitted. Even though we have been housed by a different charity on these subsequent trips, the Grand Appeal has still been there to support us in other ways.

As Teddy gets older, it is harder for him to go through the journey of being stuck in hospital but this is where the play team comes in providing entertainment at the bedside or even in the designated play rooms on the ward, which give him a space to play and just feel like a child should.

From helping staff, patients or their families, The Grand Appeal puts Bristol Children's Hospital at the heart of everything they do and this is why, when I got a ballot place for London, I had to use the opportunity to give back and raise some money for a charity that has given us so much.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and hopefully you feel you are able to donate to this wonderful charity! It will also drive me to get round those 26 gruelling miles.....