We wanted to share this story with you of a family of a toddler with a rare condition who have raised over £1,300 for the Children’s Critical Care Appeal at Wexham Park Hospital.
Two-year-old Franké Harvey was born by emergency cesarean on 23 September 2015 weighing just 4lb 12oz. Four weeks later the doctors diagnosed him with a rare chromosome syndrome called ‘3P25 deletion’ which is so unusual only 50 cases of it have ever been diagnosed around the globe. This genetic condition has left Franké with a range of disabilities including profound deafness, epilepsy, a heart condition and global developmental delay.
Parents Sarah Shiel and Aaron Harvey, who live in Britwell, have spent much of the last two years in and out of the hospital with Franké. Mum Sarah said: “Straight away he was admitted to the special care baby unit with breathing distress. But we set off home five days later without a clue what the world had in store for our Franké. In the early days, we pinged back and forth between our home and hospital all the time as he would stop breathing several times a day. He was in intensive care three times in his first six months of life.”
Franké has been treated at Great Ormond Street, Southampton and Oxford hospitals but with the newly developed children’s critical care unit at Wexham Park, he can now receive the care he needs closer to home. And it’s this outstanding care which inspired Sarah to raise money for Children’s Critical Care Appeal which will contribute towards purchasing state-of-the-art equipment for the unit.
She says: “As we spend so much of our time at the hospital, having this amazing facility close to where we live has been life-changing. The level of care he receives here is incredible and I consider the staff who treat Franké my best friends – I spend more time with them than my family! I trust them all with him 100%.”
Sarah and Aaron have been humbled by the generosity of donations which has exceeded their original fundraising target of £1,000. She added: “We’ve never given up hope because of Wexham Park’s Critical Care Unit. It’s been like a second home to us. The staff here provide the best care for children and their families when it’s needed the most.”
SUPPORT CHILDREN IN NEED OF CRITICAL CARE
If you want to make a difference in children’s lives here at Wexham Park Hospital, children like Franké, then visit the children’s critical care appeal page and help us improve their lives today.
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