On the 26th May, our daughter Madeleine turned one.

A year ago, just hours after she was born, everything changed.

What had been a calm and happy home birth quickly turned into an emergency. After feeding, Maddie suddenly went quiet and unresponsive in my arms.

Within moments, we were surrounded by midwives working to revive her, before being rushed by ambulance to hospital.

Very quickly, we were told something no parent expects to hear. Maddie had been born with a rare condition called Tracheoesophageal Fistula (TOF), meaning her oesophagus was not connected to her stomach so the milk she was trying to drink was going into her lungs. It is a condition that is extremely difficult to detect during pregnancy scans and tests.

At just 24 hours old, she underwent major life-saving surgery at St George’s Hospital.

The days and weeks that followed were the hardest we have ever faced. But they were also filled with extraordinary care, from the neonatal team, and from First Touch, who fund a significant amount of the critical supplies and support families going through exactly this kind of experience.

Where we are now

Maddie has just had her first birthday, something we will never take for granted.

Today, she is a happy, determined little girl who keeps us very busy and reminds us every day how lucky we are.

She is doing well, but like many babies who have been through major surgery so early in life, she continues to be monitored and supported. We feel incredibly lucky, and we often think about the families still going through similar experiences.

Why we are doing this

We wanted to find a way to give something meaningful back.

This summer, Tom and I will be swimming the Solent together to raise money for First Touch. For me, the sea has always been something I am comfortable in. For Tom, this is a completely different story. He is not a natural swimmer, and this is a huge personal challenge. We are doing it side by side, knowing it will be tough, but nothing compared to what so many families go through in those early days.

We are hoping to have our children alongside us for part of the journey, a reminder of exactly why we are doing this.

What the money will do

We are aiming to raise £70,000 to support neonatal care at St George’s Hospital through First Touch, enough to help fund equipment and facilities that will directly support babies and families during the most critical moments of care.

One of the things that really surprised us during our time on the neonatal unit was just how much of the equipment is funded by First Touch. For example, the incubator and the breathing machinery that Maddie relied upon were funded by them.

Before going through this ourselves, we had assumed charities mainly supported families emotionally.

In reality, they play a critical role in providing the equipment that helps keep babies alive.

This will create a neonatal milk bank, providing safe donor milk to premature and critically ill babies when their own mothers are unable to. In those moments, there is nothing a parent can do except rely on the support around them, and for some babies, that milk is life-saving.

We also want to help fund vital respiratory equipment used on the neonatal unit.

Maddie herself was supported by one of these machines following her surgery. What makes this equipment so remarkable is that it works with a baby’s own breathing, supporting the natural movement of their diaphragm, rather than simply forcing air into their tiny lungs. For babies in such a fragile condition, that difference is critical.

These are the kinds of things that quietly make the difference between a baby surviving and a baby thriving.

Why this matters

When your baby is in neonatal care, your whole world is turned upside down.

You are recovering from the birth, trying to process what is happening and at the same time learning to navigate a completely unfamiliar environment filled with machines, alarms and constant uncertainty.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and Tom was doing his best to hold everything together, supporting me, while also being there for our two-year-old son Jack, who did not understand why his mum and baby sister had suddenly disappeared into hospital.

Walking into the unit and seeing your baby surrounded by wires and equipment is something no parent can prepare for.

And yet, somehow, the team there make the impossible feel manageable. Through their care, kindness and the support provided by First Touch, they create an environment where families are supported as well as babies, with things like family rooms, space to be close, and the small but vital details that make an unbearable situation feel just that little bit easier.

It is something we will never forget.

Final ask

We hope that most people reading this will never experience anything like it. But for those who do, the support around them makes all the difference.

If you can donate, we would be incredibly grateful. Your contribution will help give other babies the best possible chance and support families at a time when they feel completely helpless.

It will also help ensure that, when a mother is unable to feed her baby, there is still breast milk available thanks to the generosity of others. Once I have finished feeding Maddie, I also plan to donate to the milk bank.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and support us.

Sarah & Tom x