Essex couple call on public to support charity that kept them together with premature son at Christmas

An Essex couple who were prepared for the worst when their son was born 14 weeks early in 2018 are encouraging others to make a donation to The Sick Children’s Trust’s Christmas appeal to help keep families like theirs together this festive period.

Leanne Curry suddenly went into premature labour at 26 weeks pregnant and was rushed from Romford to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel to deliver her son. Adam was born at just 2lb 1oz and over the next six weeks had three blood transfusions and treatment for two severe bleeds on the brain and a partially collapsed lung. Despite this, on 11 December 2020 Adam celebrates his second birthday and is thriving.

As Adam opens his presents, his parents Leanne and Paul are reflecting on their experience and calling for the public to support The Sick Children’s Trust’s Christmas appeal. The charity, which runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country giving parents a warm and comfortable place to stay minutes from their child’s hospital bedside, gave the couple keys to its Stevenson House so that they could be together throughout his hospital treatment and the festive season. Leanne said:

“Stevenson House was a glimmer of hope in an incredibly tough time. When your baby or child is sick in hospital, all you want is to be there for them. You just want to stay. You don’t want to worry about missing the last train home, but the reality is you can’t stay with them all the time unless you have support.

“You never think that you’re going to need charity. We didn’t think we would and you’ll never know when you will need that help until it happens. No parent thinks their child is going to end up in hospital and can imagine not being there for them which is why I’d encourage everyone to support The Sick Children’s Trust. Especially at a time like now when they need as much help as possible.

“Adam has done incredibly well since leaving hospital and we are so proud of everything he has achieved. As we continue to celebrate him, we won’t ever forget the support we were given and that other families are going through a similar experience and need the same help we received.”

After a year of being separated from our loved ones, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends, Christmastime is when we want to be together. All families with seriously ill children in hospital want is to be together.. The reality is they might not be at home for Christmas. They might be in a hospital far away from home. The Sick Children’s Trust wants to keep families together by their child’s hospital bedside, and with a donation of £30 can do that. Jane Featherstone, Chief Executive at The Sick Children’s Trust, said:

“We are so grateful to Leanne and Paul for encouraging people to support us this Christmas. Christmas is a time for togetherness and that’s all we want; is for families to be together with their child in hospital.

“By making a donation of £30 to our Christmas appeal, we can give a family like Adam’s a place to stay in one of our ‘Homes from Home’ just minutes from their child’s bedside.”

For further information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit sickchildrenstrust.org