5 Charities
£5000 in 5 years
We are passionate about giving back to children’s medical and family support charities who have supported us throughout our journey with Charlie.
Carl & Ali have chosen to support Five charities. We have a five-year plan to raise over £5,000 and Octave will continue to donate to the charity page.
In 2011 Carl ran the Great North Run and supported Cardiomyopathy UK.
Our niece was diagnosed with this condition as a baby and has spent a lot of time being treated and monitored at Alder Hey Children’s hospital.
In 2017 our then 9 month old son Charlie fell severely ill. Our world fell apart when our beautiful boy was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Following 4 nights in the intensive care unit, we were transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for an assessment for a heart transplant.
By mid November Charlie was placed on the urgent heart transplant list. We stayed at the Freeman Hospital accommodation, Scott House for 5 months thanks to The Sick Children’s Trust.
The Sick Children’s Trust believes keeping families together significantly improves the recovery of seriously ill children.
They provide free, high-quality ‘Home from Home’ accommodation, as well as emotional and practical support, to families with sick children in hospital in the UK.
The Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF) support the children and families who receive treatment by the Children’s Heart Unit Staff based at Freeman Hospital and raising vital funds for large and small pieces of equipment, facilities, aftercare, salaries and research.
Between October 2017 and March 2018 Scott House was our home, and enabled us to be by Charlie's side whilst he urgently waited for his heart transplant. In January 2018 it also became home to our twin girls Lizzy and Rosie who
were born on Charlie's first birthday. Charlie received his heart transplant in February 2018 and we were all able to be together under one roof as a family before returning home to Runcorn.
Following medical investigation of possible genetic inheritance of DCM, our daughter Rosie, Ali herself and Ali’s brother have been diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
Charlie and Rosie will continue to be monitored regularly at Alder Hey and The Freeman Hospital over the coming years as they are growing up.
Finally, we will never forget what our amazing and brave donor family did for us. In their moment of grief they chose to give Charlie the gift of a new heart and a chance to live a normal life. We will be forever grateful and have therefore chosen to support Child Bereavement UK also.
Child Bereavement UK support families and educate professionals both when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, and when a child is facing bereavement.
Carl, Ali and Octave will be doing a lot of events to help raise awareness and money for each of these charities.