“Twelve months ago one of our baby twin boys, Joshua, suddenly stopped feeding during the night. We were told to take him straight to A&E, where he was rushed to a children’s ward. By this point, he had stopped breathing. It was frantic and terrifying. We didn’t know what was going on but we knew that Joshua was seriously ill and that we couldn’t possibly leave him. Joshua was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital by the Embrace team.
I spent three sleepless nights in a chair by Joshua’s hospital bedside while my wife Adele looked after Edward, Joshua’s twin, and his big brother William at our home. After a few days, I was given a place to stay in Magnolia House, a ‘Home from Home’ run by The Sick Children’s Trust.
As soon as the pandemic restrictions allowed, Adele and Edward joined Joshua and I. We had been separated for two long, difficult weeks. Magnolia House changed our whole world by allowing us to be together by Joshua’s bedside on his road to recovery.
Thanks to Magnolia House and The Sick Children’s Trust we were able to wake up on Christmas Day with Edward and spend time on the ward with Joshua. We then travelled home to see William open his presents from Father Christmas and spend time together with Edward before going back to Sheffield to tuck Joshua in and kiss him goodnight.”
Martin Jefferson, Joshua, Edward and William’s dad