Arthur’s story
This is Arthur. His dad, Matthew, has a universal blood type so when Samantha was pregnant with Arthur, her white blood cells saw him as a foreign body and started to attack him.Arthur was born by emergency c-section two and a half weeks early with extreme jaundice. Left untreated for any longer, this could have led to a condition called kernicterus, a type of brain damage that can result from high levels of bilirubin in a baby’s blood. Arthur’s blood was four and a half times the normal range. Kernicterus can also cause athetoid cerebral palsy and hearing loss, because of this Arthur was born early. A very poorly Arthur was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where he received two blood transfusions and life-saving phototherapy to reduce his bilirubin levels to within the normal range.
Looking at this healthy, active one-year-old today, you’d see no signs of his bumpy start to life. This, say his parents, is all down to the NICU team who cared for him. As thanks, the Williams’ have committed to completing 24 challenges in 2024, ranging from marathons to swimming challenges – something that’s particularly challenging for Sam who’s only had about four swimming lessons in her whole life! The family is hoping to raise £5,000 to support the Noah’s Ark Charity Tiny Lives Appeal which aims to raise £300,000 to fund incubators, transport incubators, and ventilators for the neonatal intensive care unit where Arthur received care. The challenges will kick start in January, with the couple running 100KM in the space of a month. Arthur’s older brothers Oliver and Noah are joining in too and have already signed up for next year’s Superhero Dash!
Arthur’s dad, Matthew says: “We hope that by raising money for the Noah’s Ark Charity it will help those who need it most. We were blown away by the staff and can never thank them enough. Without NICU, Arthur wouldn’t be here as the thriving one-year-old we see crawling around in front of us. We were only inpatients for ten days but hope this will help other families like ours when they need it most.”Pob lwc Team Williams. Thank you so much for all your support!
