The Trust

Now, the reason for this description of my life so far is not to gain any sympathy for me, far from it. I have had absolutely the best treatment that could be offered in the world to a baby with my condition. Also I have had consultants and nurses looking after me 24 hours a day in Paediatric Intensive Care. Until you have to visit the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Newcastle General you really can not get a sense of how amazing these places and the people who work there really are. The walls are all painted with cartoon characters to make the children who have to stay there feel as safe and as comfortable as possible. Also, it does help you to realise how fortunate it is to have good health when you see just how sick some of the children in the unit are. No, the main reason for this is that I can say that I have been very fortunate and my treatment is going to plan. I even manage to get a laugh now and then these days - so as the phrase goes, I really shouldn't be here - but thanks to the wonderful treatment available today I am still here and planning to fight my way through this.

So, in order to express their gratitude to the staff and everyone who has helped me at the Newcastle RVI and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Newcastle General, my parents, auntie and godparents have started a trust fund to try and help raise money for life saving equipment. Also, they would like to thank the RVI for their help and raise money for the children's cancer ward in order to make the stay of families in the same situation a little better.

The Trust has set a target of £50,000 to raise and many sponsored events are in the planning process. If you can help, it will be gratefully appreciated, and it is so nice to know that if anything like this happens to a family member - that there are wonderful places like the RVI and the Newcastle Paediatric Intensive Care Unit to help.

Thank you for your support,

Thomas Russell