Our twins fight for their life

For months my wife and I had eagerly awaited the arrival of our twin boys, but little did we know they would be born eight weeks early at a local hospital in Carlisle, where they would then be kept in special care for seven weeks. Joshua was born weighing 3lb and Ashton 4.9lb. From the beginning Joshua was the weaker of the two. He struggled to put on weight and had a lot of trouble feeding. He was soon admitted to The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne due to a large Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) in his heart. Usually parents would stay at the Freeman, but as we had Joshua’s twin Ashton with us, plus the possibility of visits from their five-year-old brother, Harvey, it was arranged for us to stay a short distance away at Crawford House at The Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne, provided by The Sick Children’s Trust. Thankfully we were put in touch with this charity, which provides free accommodation to families with sick children so they can stay nearby the hospital while their child is being treated. Crawford House was our ‘Home from Home,’ it fitted our needs perfectly. During our stay, Joshua began to get worse. He was sick after every feed which caused him to choke and temporarily stop breathing. This was very distressing for us as we needed him to get to 3kg in order to have his heart surgery. We are a very close family and the thought of being away from Harvey while Joshua was being treated broke our hearts. We live in Bassenthwaite near Keswick and travelling from home to the hospital would have meant a four hour round trip every day. Faced with the decision to travel each day or tolerate the high costs of accommodation nearby, The Sick Children’s Trust really helped us out. It was an absolute blessing that we were able to have the whole family together and a huge weight off of our shoulders. It meant we could concentrate on Joshua getting better, as well as on our other children. As it was during the summer holidays, our eldest son Harvey was off school. This was his first summer holiday and it would’ve been hard on him for mum, dad and new brothers to not be around. Thanks to Crawford House we were able to avoid that. This was like a little adventure for him; we were able to give him the summer holiday he deserved, while still caring for our poorly little Joshua. It helped us all that we had our family together in a place where we felt comfortable and relaxed. Being at Crawford House also meant we could spend more time with Joshua on the ward. The nursing staff would often comment that he seemed more settled when we were there, which provided great comfort to us. The house afforded us a place to spend some time doing normal family things. We enjoyed our family meals, Harvey loved the playroom where he made many friends, and we found it helpful being around other families. When faced with a sick child, we found that the only people who truly understood what we were going through were the other parents in similar situations. We found great comfort and reassurance from speaking to them and sharing experiences. Our House Manager played a huge role during our stay at Crawford House and we couldn’t have asked for anything better. Gail was very helpful and supportive throughout our entire time at the house. She would give us information when needed and would always ask how things were going, yet at the same time she gave us space to feel independent and as if we were in our own home. Being on the ward is draining and after a time it becomes hard. Having a private space meant we could recharge to be ready for the next day. Gail made that possible for us. Our stay at Crawford House lasted from 1st August to 16th September 2011. Now Joshua is doing well and putting on weight. He does not require further surgery and the outlook is good. We will always have a special place in our hearts for The Sick Children’s Trust for allowing us to keep our family together and providing limitless support during an extremely difficult time. I can’t imagine what the situation would have been like if we hadn’t had this charity. Steve Hamer, Joshua’s dad