Thankful mum raises money for charity that kept her by daughter’s hospital bedside

A North Lincolnshire mum is using her creativity to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust to thank the charity for giving her a place to stay close to her daughter’s hospital bedside.

Emma Blaik who runs Audrey & Coco is donating a percentage of her sales from her eco-friendly bespoke cards to support The Sick Children’s Trust. The charity, which runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country, gave Emma a place to stay at its Magnolia and Treetop Houses when her daughter, Etta, was rushed to Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

At six days old, Etta caught the flu and developed breathing apnoea, which caused her to stop breathing. She needed to be ventilated and was treated in Sheffield for a week. During this time Etta always had her mum by her side with thanks to The Sick Children’s Trust. Emma said:

“I was so relieved to know that I would have somewhere to stay, I hadn’t thought past getting Etta the help she needed. I would’ve slept on the chair by Etta’s bedside had it not been for The Sick Children’s Trust. Having a place to stay meant I managed to get some rest and didn’t have to worry about being too far from Etta. Plus, The Sick Children’s Trust staff were wonderful and so friendly which made a horrible situation seem much less scary.

“Etta has made a full recovery and if you met her now you wouldn’t believe she’d spent a week in hospital on a ventilator, she is doing incredibly well and has just celebrated her first birthday.

“2020 was a strange year to say the least, and I know that The Sick Children’s Trust has continued to be there for families like mine despite the pandemic. I make cards to spread a little bit of love and thought donating through them would be a regular way to raise funds for the charity. We never imagined that we would need a charity’s help, and it made such a huge difference to me when Etta was in hospital. You never think it will happen, but it could to you, your family or friends one day so I would encourage you to think about supporting this amazing charity.”

Due to cancelled fundraising events, The Sick Children’s Trust expects to lose 25-30% of its income which it relies on to support families with seriously ill children every day. Ann Wyatt, Magnolia and Treetop House Manager, said:

“We’re so grateful to Emma and her family for all their support, it means so much to us especially now in these uncertain times.

“Our ‘Homes from Home’ give families a warm and comfortable place to stay after a long and often emotionally exhausting day on the ward. It is so important for families to be able to rest whilst being safe in the knowledge that they aren’t far from their little one. However we can only continue to do this with the public’s support and amazing fundraising ideas like Emma’s – and would like to say a huge thank you to her for thinking of us.”

For further information about The Sick Children’s Trust, please visit sickchildrenstrust.org and to purchase Emma’s cards visit: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AudreyCoco