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Family take on Great Newham run for The Sick Children’s Trust

Thursday 22 June, 2017

The
family of a two year old girl who was given just a 20% chance of survival when
she contracted bacterial meningitis have come together to compete in a 10km
race to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust.

Dad
Rickie Hicks, from Borehamwood, along with siblings Tony and Charlotte, cousin
Sarah and colleague Steve Gardner are lacing their trainers for the Great
Newham Run, which takes place on Sunday 2 July, to thank The Sick Children’s
Trust for supporting Rickie and his wife Carly with free ‘Home from Home’
accommodation when their daughter Lily was fighting for her life.

Lily
was a happy and healthy six month old baby on a family day out with her parents
and brother, James, when she became ill last year. Her worried parents rushed her
to Watford General A&E where she was diagnosed with suspected chickenpox
and sent home. However, a few hours later it was clear to her parents that
something was seriously wrong with Lily. An ambulance was called and she was rushed
to Barnet Hospital A&E where doctors began to treat her for meningococcal
septicaemia. But her condition soon deteriorated and Lily was rushed to Great
Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for lifesaving treatment.

Dad,
Rickie, who works for the family business H&H Van Hire Ltd, says: “No
matter how strong you think you are or what you have had to deal with in life,
nobody can prepare you for the news that your baby girl might die right there
on that table.

“Our
world stood still. Each minute felt like an hour but as each minute passed we
held on to the thought that our baby was still alive, while trying to ignore
the fact that at any second we could be told the worst news ever possibly
imaginable.

“When
Lily was transferred to GOSH she spent five days in the paediatric intensive
care unit (PICU) heavily sedated and attached to a machine which did her
breathing for her. These were the longest five days of our lives and we lost
all sense of reality. It was so traumatic; we didn’t expect this to ever
happen.

“As
we waited for Lily to get stronger we were taken to a place called Guilford
Street House. Guilford Street House is a ‘Home from Home’ run by The Sick
Children’s Trust which supports families with seriously ill children in GOSH.
Lily was very much in a critical condition, it really was touch and go for
those first five days and even being a few minutes’ walk away from the ward
made me feel anxious in case something changed.

“However,
these feelings would have been intensified if we hadn’t had Guilford Street
House and for that we are grateful. We are so grateful that we didn’t have to
make a 50 minute journey to be with our daughter when she needed us.”

The
Sick Children’s Trust runs ten free ‘Homes from Home’ across the country
supporting around 4,000 families with seriously ill children in hospital every
year. Guilford Street House Manager, Tina Thake, says:

“It
was really important for both Rickie and Carly to be supported by us whilst
little Lily was fighting for her life. Not only do we provide parents and
families with a ‘Homes from Home’, but we also offer emotional support so that
help is always at hand.

“Rickie
and Carly stayed with us for ten days and it was such a relief when Lily turned
a corner and became stronger. Those initial few days were so traumatic for her
parents and I’m so pleased we were able to support them as best we could.

“We
want to wish Rickie and his family the best of luck in the race. We rely on the
generous donations of our supporters so that we can be here for families with
seriously ill children in hospital so would like to say a huge thank you.”

To
read more about the team’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/runforlily

For
more information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit http://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/



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