Sam's story
“We were both active, working, parents with an energetic two year old daughter, Freya, who had never been ill. Rona’s pregnancy with our second child had been normal and we had just started decorating the attic which we had converted to make another bedroom for our expanding family. As soon as Sam was born we knew things were not right. It took another six months, including two stays in Intensive Care and many nights where we lived as a family in rooms above the hospital, for the doctors to discover just how ‘not right’ things were. Finally, Sam was diagnosed as having an incredibly rare metabolic disorder called ‘I Cell’ disease. It is a progressive condition that offers no hope of recovery.
Sam was one of the first children to stay at Bluebell Wood. Here, he got the care he needed and we got support too. His big sister Freya was able to have fun, play with the toys and get some of the attention she had missed out on, whilst we could rest and spend some quality time together as a family.
Sam passed away last December, aged 2. While his life was tragically short it overflowed with quality and we have many beautiful memories and experiences of our time spent with him at Bluebell Wood.
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