The parent accommodation which CHSF funds thanks to your donations is crucially important, and with your help we can keep offering families this respite.
Heart mum Tamra lives in Malton, and returned home with heart hero Finley just days before Christmas last year. She told us why our parent rooms helped her and her partner cope better throughout his hospital treatment…
Tamra said:
“This is the second time we’ve stayed at LGI while Finley has had heart surgery.
“We stayed in the Brotherton Wing accommodation which is more than enough for myself and my partner.
“The accommodation has around 14 bedrooms, all en-suite, with a shared kitchen. This is ideal when you need a place to go to just relax, have some food, space from the wards, and some rest so you have your energy for your poorly child.
“The CHSF rooms gave us somewhere to go to just clear your head and rest. There’s so much going on when you’re on the wards it’s nice to just go away for a few hours, without listening to beeping monitors etc. all day, every day.
Living nearly 50 miles away, in malton, this is the second time the family have used CHSF accommodation while Finley has surgery.
“The accommodation takes added stress off us as parents and makes us feel more at ease knowing we are close by, no matter what.”
“While Finley was having his operation we stayed down at the accommodation the whole time as it was space away from everyone but not too far for when we got the call that the operation was over.
“During recovery we got meals prepped so we could warm them up easily in the kitchen when we had left Finley for the evening. We could then get our heads down for some well needed rest. This was great because you needed all the rest you could get for each day’s stepping stone.
“Finley is 17 months old, and this was his second open heart surgery.
“We are from Malton, in between Scarborough and York and so it takes around 1.5 hours/2 hours if traffic’s bad to get to Leeds. Being so close to Finley really helps us so we aren’t travelling home every day.
“We would also panic if something happened and we were that far away so the accommodation, again, takes added stress off us as parents and makes us feel more at ease knowing we are close by, no matter what.
“As parents we get tired and worn out. We are bombarded with information all day from nurses and doctors about what the next steps are to help your little one recover. So having that place you can go just to get away from the “hospital chatter” is quite nice when it gets overwhelming.
“Having accommodation in the hospital gives parents a breather and some space before their child is discharged too. Once you are home you have to do everything yourself, so having that time beforehand is a godsend.”
Since our charity was founded in 1988, we estimate that around 10,000 families have stayed in CHSF-funded accommodation.
13 babies are diagnosed with congenital heart disease in the UK every day. Last year alone we supported double the families that we did in the previous year.
You can help us to keep being there for families who need a place to stay in the hospital by making a one-off donation or setting up a regular gift to CHSF. Thank you.
Georgie Shadows Play Specialist Emma
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