Chestnut House saved us

After a very complicated labour, our son Ted had to be transferred to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge - around 20 miles away from home. That night, whilst I was still on the ward, my husband Phil was offered a room at Chestnut House - a couple of minutes’ walk from the neonatal intensive-care unit. We thought it would just be for a couple of nights but little did we know that we would still be there over a month later.

Ted had been starved of oxygen at birth, and over the next four weeks he suffered from multiple organ failures, including brain seizures. He was kept heavily sedated the entire time, and when he was 22 days old, he underwent emergency surgery after discovering that he had also developed Necrotising Enterocolitis - a potentially lethal bowel disease which caused a perforation in his lower intestine.

It was an agonising and desperate time for us as a family. We also have a three year-old, Rex, who was being cared for at home by grandparents, and it was so difficult trying to divide our time to spend with both our boys. However, having a room in Chestnut House was a total Godsend for us. Being able to stay so close to Ted’s bedside when he was extremely sick, yet having somewhere to go for a break throughout the day, to get away from all the machines and the intensity of the noises and bleeps...it saved us. It was so amazing for us to be able to have a space at the hospital where Rex could come and visit us and to be able to cook a meal and eat as a family, to play with him or watch a film, and to have grandparents come and spend time with us all, not just in a waiting room. It gave us a bit of normality that was so necessary to help us keep going during such a difficult time.

Of course, Chestnut House wouldn't be what it is without its amazing Manager! She was just so supportive and kind…a shoulder to cry on, a sharer of biscuits and tea and the voice of reason when it all felt like too much. The staff are such amazing people, who really made us feel looked after. Chestnut House itself is absolutely lovely, with everything we could have possibly needed - lovely rooms, kitchen, laundry room and expressing pumps, we just felt so lucky.

We were extremely grateful to The Sick Children's Trust for having this fantastic facility available to families like ours. Within a few weeks, we created a Justgiving page to raise money for Chestnut House and were delighted when friends and family donated over £3,500. Ted was finally deemed stable enough to come off the emergency list when he was 36 days old. The next day we left Chestnut House, knowing that another family was in much more in need of it now.

Ted remained in the NICU at Addenbrooke's for seven weeks. We were then transferred back to our original hospital, Hinchingbrooke in Huntingdon, where we stayed for another week until at last, almost two months later, we were able to bring Ted home. It felt like a miracle.

After undergoing another operation in early December to reverse the ileostomy he had, we enjoyed a quiet family Christmas after such a hectic few months. It was more than we could have dared hope for in those early days.

Since then Ted has gone from strength to strength. He has just turned eight months and is doing brilliantly - he is sitting, clapping and very much enjoying being on solid food! We are still being seen by consultants every few weeks, but they are all delighted with his development and are hoping that the early prognosis of long-term complications will not materialise.

Again, we cannot express how thankful we are for all the work by The Sick Children's Trust, and for the dedication and hard work done by the team at Chestnut House. It’s only when you’re in a desperate situation that most people get to hear of this fantastic charity, but we hope that we can continue to raise awareness of the great work they do, and of course we will be popping in to visit whenever we are in the area!

Lorraine Ryder, Ted’s Mum