Treetop House really was a ‘Home from Home’.

We first heard about The Sick Children’s Trust when our son Kian was born in January 2012. A paediatrician on the ward at Grimsby Maternity Hospital noticed that Kian had some signs suggesting he was born with Down Syndrome. As part of this condition he had also developed Duodenal Atresia, a condition in which the first part of the small bowel (the duodenum) has not developed properly and cannot allow the passage of stomach contents. The doctors told us that it presents itself in about 8% of babies born with Down Syndrome and would require surgery as soon as possible. The day of the birth we were moved to Sheffield Children’s Hospital for Kian to have his surgery. When we arrived at the hospital one of the nurses on the ward told us about The Sick Children’s Trust’s Treetop House and how we could stay there during this time. The charity offers free accommodation in their ‘Homes from Home’ for parents of sick children. From a logistical point of view, staying in Treetop House saved us countless hours travelling back and forth from Market Rasen which was nearly an hour and a half away by car. This was especially important for my wife, Kate, who having only just given birth, was exhausted herself. I can’t imagine how we would have coped if we hadn’t been able to stay close by. Treetop House really was a ‘Home from Home’. There are phones in the room in case the ward needed to call us during the night, which gave us great comfort. Also being in such close proximity with other parents going through similar situations we all shared a sense of empathy with each other. For us it was just having that private space away from the ward where we could recharge our batteries and get some head space. However, by far the biggest benefit of staying in Treetop House was so that we could be near our newborn son who needed the emotional support of his loving parents. It was an emotionally difficult and tiring time but having the comfort blanket of a room at the house meant we could focus our attention on helping Kian’s recovery and be there to spend as much time as possible with our son. Our five year old daughter Sarita stayed for a night too. It was quite an adventure for her in her sleeping bag on the floor. It was great for her to be able to see where mum, dad and her new baby brother were for all those nights and helped her get a better perspective on what was happening and why we weren’t at home with her. She was very resilient to the unexpected shift in her life and we are so proud of the way she handled everything. Our first stay at Treetop House was for four weeks but then Kian unfortunately and unusually had to have a second operation to treat the same condition returning and we found ourselves back at the house again in March for a further three weeks. The staff at Treetop House, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Grimsby Hospital were quite superb during this time and helped aid his recovery once again. Despite Kian being very poorly when he was admitted the second time, he is now back at home doing all the things a three month old should be doing and we are looking forward to the future together as a family. We would like to thank all NHS staff who treated and cared for Kian. We owe them all an enormous debt of gratitude. Also the staff and supporters of the Sick Children’s Trust who looked after Kate and myself. We would also like to thank family, friends and all staff at Cottingham Pharmacy and Clee Medical Centre for their huge support when we really needed them. Mike Cottingham, Kian’s Dad.