A family from Bury St Edmunds has given an amazing thank you to The Sick Children’s Trust after we provided them with a ‘Home from Home’ while their son was receiving life-saving care in a London hospital.
In January, Dan and Katie Smailes’s two-year-old son Louis fell critically ill with pneumonia, sepsis and a collapsed lung, being rushed from their local hospital in Bury St Edmunds to the Royal London Hospital, where he was treated on the paediatric intensive care unit.
Louis (centre right), pictured on the day of his discharge from hospital, with mum Katie (left), sister Madeleine (centre left) and dad Dan. Credit: Smailes family.
Throughout Louis’s 13-day stay at the Royal London Hospital, Dan and Katie were supported with a free place to stay at Stevenson House, our ‘Home from Home’ located just minutes from the hospital ward.
Determined to give something back, the couple set up a JustGiving Crowdfunding page and organised a string of fundraising events, generating an astonishing £20,000 , enough to sponsor two rooms at Stevenson House for an entire year.
In total, the couple have raised over £37,000, with the PaNDR paediatric ambulance service – which transferred Louis from Bury St Edmunds to London – set to receive more than £17,000.
Dan and Katie’s latest fundraiser took place on Wednesday 4 September, with a golf day at Bury St Edmunds Golf Club contributing over £9,000 to their wonderful total. Katie said:
“We are so happy to have raised enough money to sponsor two rooms for whole year at Stevenson House, and want to say thanks to everyone who has helped us get to this point. The Sick Children’s Trust means so much to us, they really came to our rescue when Louis was transferred to a hospital such a long way from our own home. It really was one less thing for us to worry about.
“It was really important for us to raise money for both PaNDR and The Sick Children’s Trust. He might not even be here without PaNDR, and The Sick Children’s Trust kept us close to him when he needed us most, which meant the world.”
When Louis showed signs of respiratory illness he was seen at an out of hours clinic and referred to hospital. Within two hours, the PaNDR team was assessing his condition, with tests revealing the seriousness of the situation.
Suffering from pneumonia, sepsis and a collapsed lung caused by an empyema – a collection of pus inside the chest cavity – Louis was taken to theatre at the West Suffolk Hospital where a chest drain was inserted ahead of his transfer to London for specialist care. Katie said:
“Louis was in a very bad way, it was touch and go whether or not he would pull through. We were told that if we had taken him in a day later he wouldn’t be here today.
“It was a horrible situation to be in, but we tried to show positivity throughout. Even the nurses in intensive care at the Royal London commented about how upbeat we were, but that was because we didn’t want to scare Louis. We wanted to stay strong for him.”
With parents unable to sleep on the intensive care unit and 100 miles away from their Bury St Edmunds home, Dan and Katie’s natural concerns about staying close to Louis were eased by The Sick Children’s Trust, who approached the couple within hours of their arrival in London. Dan said:
“We were desperate to stay close to Louis but weren’t sure how it would be possible before Stevenson House came to our rescue. It was such a weight off our minds and I’m not sure what we would have done without it. We might have had to sleep in the car, or found a hotel which obviously would have cost a lot of money.
“We were about as close as we could be, able to get to his bedside within minutes should we get a call in the night. We didn’t sleep much, but the chance to put our heads down for a few hours, have a shower, brush our teeth, or doing something simple like make a cup of tea in the kitchen brought some normality to a situation that was anything but.”
After 13 days of treatment, Louis was transferred to a specialist heart and lung centre at The Royal Brompton Hospital, in Chelsea, where he spent a further four days before being discharged. Katie said:
“To look at him know you’d never know how poorly he was, or that it happened at all. He’s made such an amazing recovery, and we are so thankful. He spends a lot of time with his little sister Madeleine, who he absolutely adores.”
Dan and Katie Smailes with children Louis and Madeleine. Credit: Smailes family.