On Sunday morning when siblings Anne and Dai, from the Vale, set off on the Cardiff Half Marathon for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity they will have motivation in abundance. Anne’s son Sam was treated at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital when he suffered an intussusception of his bo
wel when he was 16 weeks old.
Now a healthy two year old the time spent in hospital was difficult for the whole family. Sam required an emergency bowel resection and needed ventilating for 48hours in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. He then received treatment in the High Dependency Unit as well as surgical wards.
Anne can’t speak highly enough of the hospital and this is why she and her brother Dai will stride out the streets of Cardiff to raise funds for Noah’s Ark, who are currently raising funds for the new Critical Care Unit, which will be home to both Intensive Care and High Dependency.
Anne said; “The standard of care we received was truly remarkable and we were very fortunate to receive so much support in such an unfortunate situation. Sam was treated with such compassion and both medical and nursing staff alike went out of their way to ensure we were fully informed and to make us feel comfortable in such an alien environment.”
“Sam’s surgeon (Mr Kim Hutton) and his anaesthetist (Dr Chris Gilderslieve) along with everyone in PICU/HDU and South Ward will always hold a special place in our heart for the loving care and attention they gave our Sammy.”
“Training for the half marathon is going surprisingly well! Although as I’m sure every working Mum can appreciate it is very difficult to juggle work and looking after kids with half marathon training! The worst part has to be having to drag yourself out of bed to do a run after a sleepless night. I just hope Sam sleeps on Saturday night!”
To show Anne and Dai your support visit www.justgiving.com/AnneDai
Suzanne Mainwaring, Director of Noah’s Ark said; “Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity would like to say a huge good luck to all of our runners in Sunday’s Half Marathon. It is through great support at events like this that we can ensure that the best equipment is provided for sick children, such as Sam, for years to come.”
