When baby Killian was born in November last year his delighted mum began planning the perfect Christmas to celebrate. As with most new parents the festive celebrations would be a milestone to make the most of.
But for Sam Whalley and her partner Craig their dream first Christmas with their newborn son was left in tatters after he was found to need vital surgery. And instead of sitting in their cosy home on Christmas Eve they found themselves in hospital miles away as Killian was admitted ready for surgery to take place on Boxing Day.
Sam said: "Me and Craig were dreading Christmas morning. Rather than it being this great celebration, we were in the hospital worrying about our son."
Now, 12 months later, the once desperately underweight tot is thriving and the family is preparing for the fun they could not have a year ago. But they are also wanting to remember those who got them through those tough days.
For apart from the youngster's health issues the family were facing having to find somewhere to stay while he was treated. For the specialist care he needed meant they had been transferred from their local Scunthorpe Hospital to Sheffield Children's Hospital, miles from their home town.
Thankfully the Sick Children's Trust was able to step in. And rather than racking up bills at an expensive hotel they were able to stay two minutes from their sick little boy at the charity's Home from Home Magnolia House. Now Sam is telling their story to thank them and help other families in the same position.
Sam told how their firstborn, Killian, was born on November 12 last year. She said: "Things were going well at home, but we noticed Killian was struggling to keep feeds down. This went on for several weeks but, as something not uncommon with newborns, we just kept an eye on how he was doing and carried on as normal.
"However, when Killian started to projectile vomit, my partner Craig and I started to think there could be something more serious happening. We explained what had been going on to the doctor but were told several times that it wasn’t anything to worry about.
"Two weeks later, when the health visitor came to check on us, they noticed how underweight Killian was. He was clearly bringing back more than he was keeping down."
Sam continued: "The vomiting continued and Killian was particularly bad on Christmas Eve, so we decided to take him to the doctors again. Following some examinations and hearing about our past visits, the doctor thought Killian could have a condition call pyloric stenosis. This causes the gap between the stomach and the intestine to be a lot smaller than normal, preventing food from passing from the stomach correctly.
"He informed us that Killian urgently needed to go to hospital for treatment. We rushed him over to Scunthorpe Hospital where they confirmed the diagnosis, with arrangements soon made for us to go Sheffield Children's Hospital where he could receive specialist treatment.
"As we made the trip from Scunthorpe to Sheffield in the ambulance, we had no idea what to expect when we got there. We were heading to a different city with nowhere to stay and, being Christmas Eve, our options were even more limited.
"While Killian was admitted to the ward, we were given accommodation at the hospital. It wasn’t long before we were informed that Killian was going to need surgery to remove some of the tissue that was blocking his food, opening the gap in his stomach.
"He was only a couple of weeks old when all of this was happening and, with Killian being our first child, I was completely panicking. Doctors kept coming in telling us lots of different things such as the treatment he would need and how the surgery would work. But for me, all I wanted to hear was that he was going to be ok.
"With his surgery not scheduled until Boxing Day, we knew we wouldn’t be able to return home for a few days. This was not how we envisioned spending our first Christmas with our newborn son, miles away from home and without any of our family.
"We had planned to spend the day with Killian’s aunt and cousin Everley – who is absolutely smitten with Killian – but all of that went out the window.
"Me and Craig were dreading Christmas morning. Rather than it being this great celebration, we were in the hospital worrying about our son.
"However, the next day there were presents at the end of Killian’s bed and Santa Claus came around to see all the children on the ward, thanks to the amazing hospital staff. Because of that, we made the best of the day.
"As we were unable to stay in the hospital accommodation long term, we needed to book into a hotel for the next two nights. The closest we could get at such short notice was still 20 minutes away, and even that is too far when your child is in hospital.
"All you want is to be right by their side. Killian had his surgery on Boxing Day, which was successful. When we came to see him the following morning the nursing staff told us that they had managed to get us a place to stay, close to the hospital at a place called Magnolia House.
"It’s a ‘Home from Home’ run by The Sick Children’s Trust, which supports families with a place to stay completely free of charge. As it was located right next to the hospital, Magnolia House allowed me and Craig to always be there for Killian.
"We could support each other without having to worry about how we would get back to his side in an emergency. We no longer had to make the 20-minute drive from the hotel, which staying in was also costing a fortune.
"The sanctuary provided by Magnolia House meant we could take our minds off things and get some rest. Being honest, the whole time we were in the hotel I didn’t sleep properly because I was so worried about not being able to get to Killian’s side if he needed us.
"In fact, I hadn’t slept well for weeks, since he started being so ill. Killian has always been a quiet baby, even while being sick. That put me on high state of alert at night – I didn’t want to miss him being ill and not be able to help him.
"At Magnolia House I was finally able to get a bit of rest. Killian was monitored for two days while he recovered.
"As soon as he was able to keep food down, we would be able to return home. He was still sick a couple of times but it was to be expected in those early stages.
"Thankfully, he continued to improve, keeping more and more food down before we finally returned home on 28 December. He’s been doing brilliantly since, taking all his food just fine and putting on weight.
"He’s massive now and he’s absolutely perfect! All he has is a little scar on his belly button which you’d never notice if you didn’t know it was there.
"He’s the happiest baby ever and we’re really looking forward to spending Christmas at home this year with Everley and the rest of the family. We’ll never forget the support we received from Sheffield Children's Hospital and The Sick Children's Trust."
The Sick Children's Trust helps families at hospitals across the country. To help them help other you can donate to its Together at Christmas appeal and help them give families with a seriously ill child in hospital all the precious gifts of Christmas; care, wellbeing , warmth, rest and most valuable of all, time together.
Appealing for people to help it said: "By donating £40 to support The Sick Children’s Trust Together at Christmas appeal you will keep another family, like Killian’s, together in our ‘Homes from Home’ over the festive period."
