‘If it weren’t for Sheffield Children’s Hospital our son wouldn’t be here - we owe everything to them’

A family has committed to giving back to Sheffield Children's Hospital after medical staff saved their son’s life.

When 13-year-old Ollie was two days old, he was rushed to Sheffield Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery.

Upon arrival, surgeons worked fast to remove part of his bowel. At the time they didn’t know exactly what was wrong but believed his bowel to be perforated.

Mum Laura, who lives in Worksop, said: “We were taken into a room and told there was a chance he wouldn’t make it through the night. It was all such a shock, but I sat with him all night and a lovely nurse kept me company.”

Around five days after his surgery, the family was told Ollie had a condition called Hirschsprung’s disease. The disease affects one in every 5,000 people and occurs when nerves don’t grow in certain parts of the bowel.

Ollie was discharged after three weeks and went home with his parents to meet his four older siblings.

In the following year, he had two follow-up surgeries to repair his bowel. For the next few years, Ollie continued to be unwell and eventually, when he was three years old, his surgeon and parents decided the best option was a colostomy.

Ollie now has a stoma and mum Laura can’t believe how much better it has made him.

She said: “He still has bad days, but I could never have dreamed when he was little that his life could be as good as it is.”

The family is so grateful for Ollie’s care that they have taken on many fundraising challenges over the years. Ollie and his sister have held cake sales, and Ollie has completed sporty missions.

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Last month Ollie and members of his football team, Worksop Town JFC Under 14’s Tigers took on the Firehouse Fitness Mud Run in support of Sheffield Children’s. 

Laura said: “You can see as you visit the hospital the difference that fundraising has made. We have been coming for years and the transformation is incredible. 

“We always say if you have to be in hospital Sheffield Children’s is a nice place to be. The staff are brilliant, they care beyond caring. If it weren’t for Sheffield Children’s, he literally wouldn’t be here. We owe everything to them, so we try to give something back whenever we can.”

On April 28, Ollie’s dad Gavin is continuing the family’s support for the charity by taking part in Theo Cup, an annual five-aside football tournament.

The family’s support has been unwavering, with Laura and dad, Gavin, even giving Ollie the middle name Theo after the Charity’s mascot, Theo the bear.

Laura said: “My dad passed away a few years ago and he asked us to donate the money raised at his wake to the Charity. Being from near Sheffield everyone you know has been helped by the hospital and we couldn’t be more grateful as a family for everything they’ve done for us.”

To sign up your own Theo Cup team, email [email protected].