The birth of our daughter and first child, Rachel in January 2013 was such a difficult time

The birth of our daughter and first child, Rachel in January 2013 was such a difficult time, and The Sick Children’s Trust helped by providing us with free accommodation in its Treetop House at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Rachel was born at Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton in Ashfield Nottinghamshire on the 23rd January, and diagnosed some 12 hours later with both Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF) and Oesophageal Atresia (OA) which are rare congenital conditions that affect approximately 1 in 3,500 newborn babies. The pre-natal scans had shown no problems, so this was a complete shock to us both. These conditions require intensive neo-natal care and corrective surgery within days of birth, so Rachel was transferred from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Kings Mill Hospital to the Neonatal Surgical Unit (NSU) at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which specialises in this type of surgery. It was only then that we heard about The Sick Children's Trust, and my wife Lisa and I stayed in Treetop House from the 24th January to the 9th February 2013. With TOF, the food pipe (oesophagus) is connected to the windpipe. Without surgical intervention, this allows air to pass from the windpipe to the food pipe and stomach. It can also allow stomach acid to pass into the lungs. With OA, the food pipe (oesophagus) forms a closed off pouch that prevents food from reaching the stomach. Prior to surgery, this pouch can fill up with food and saliva, which can eventually overflow into the baby’s trachea (windpipe), entering the lungs and causing choking. With our home in Sutton in Ashfield, staying at Treetop House made family life (which, as for many people is important to us) so much easier, enabling us to be close to our daughter and to bond in the first few weeks of her life. My wife was able to express her milk and eventually start breastfeeding just before we left the hospital. It was an amazing achievement to go from saline drip, to tube, to bottle feeding and then eventually breast feeding all with her mother’s milk. This would have been a difficult process without the support of The Sick Children’s Trust. Treetop House is located just a lift ride away from the wards, so staying on site saved us a minimum of two hours travelling every day. It removed the stress of travelling in the bad weather (at this time it was snowing) and allowed us to be close to Rachel 24 hours a day. We could get up for her feeds and cares through the night and day, continuing the family bonding. Having somewhere to go and sleep throughout the night and day, to eat properly and relax made life so much easier and helped to keep our strength up and our emotions together. It also allowed us to mix with other families in a similar situation, which made us feel less alone. We are now at home and Rachel is recovering really well and showing no real signs of her ordeal apart from her need for various medicines. She will continue to have appointments with the consultants until she is sixteen, and further surgery may be necessary if feeding proves difficult later in life. We are so grateful for the support of The Sick Children’s Trust, since without them a difficult period in our life would have been even more stressful – for this we will never be able to thank them enough. Tim Ash, Rachel’s dad