For any parents with a sick child the impact can be immense, but for little Nathan Browne and his family their lives have been turned upside down. The brave two-year-old was born with several heart conditions and since his birth at St Mary's in Manchester in October 2019, they have never returned home.
In order to be close to their son, mum Joy, dad Patrick and their 11-year-old twins Elienai and Eliedad, left behind their Bolton home to move into the Ronald McDonald House Manchester. The charity-funded house is just a stone's throw from the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and is the only place Nathan is allowed to go when he gets a break from the ward.
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It's there he can spend time with his family and play with his brother and sister, with his parents safe in the knowledge that any medical support is close by. He gets to spend up to 10 hours a day in the Manchester House, precious time he would not get with his family had they remained at their home in Farnworth. For now, that's being rented out, with Patrick driving the twins back each day to attend their final year at Cherry Tree Primary.
Joy, whose scans hadn't detected any heart problems during pregnancy, described how 'traumatic' it was for them all.
"We never knew what it was to be in the intensive care unit or to have a patient there," she said. "I saw the ward filled with so many children, and we just burst into tears. We were told that he wasn't going to make it and all we could do was just cry.
"It was hectic and incredibly traumatic. But we got told at the hospital that there was an accommodation called Ronald McDonald House Charities UK, with a house based in Manchester. We were sent over to the house and my partner Patrick brought our twins along."
Having the house has meant that as well as being close to Nathan, they have been able to continue with their lives, with Joy doing a master's in Children's and Young People's Nursing and Patrick working full-time night shifts as a housing assistant.
“It's been nearly two-and-a-half years since we came to Ronald McDonald House Manchester," said Joy. "We've never been home; the house is like home to us. To be honest, we virtually don't miss anything, that's the truth.
"Our twins have been coping every day because they are able to stay at the house and Nathan is allowed to come over from the ward and we all get to see his nice, warm smile.
"The house makes you feel like there is absolutely nothing to worry about and doesn't make you feel insecure as if they're doing you a massive favour.
"It's enabled us to have a routine together. We'll go over to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in the morning and bring him over to the house and it's just so pleasing to see all my family together."
She added: "Ronald McDonald House Charities UK has created a space for the children so that they can bond. It also has created somewhere where the staff as always there for you if you need them. They will ask you 'do you want to talk?', 'how is your son?', 'are you okay?'. I feel relief any time I talk to them.
"And seeing them and the nurses do the things that they do for Nathan just makes me feel like I can do it, and give back."
Joy says Nathan copes well given what he has to contend with. All his medical equipment, including oxygen, goes with him to the house. But he can play in his room and in the garden and outdoor play area, which features a new playground made from recycled Happy Meal toys.
He enjoys playing with his medical equipment rather than toys, but he loves the outside space including the drive-in cars and the seesaw and he loves music and 'will dance to anything'.
The brave toddler has had 11 procedures in total - four of which were major, including an open-heart surgery.
He has a tracheostomy and is ventilated via a portable vent 24 hours a day. But it's hoped he'll eventually be able to be weaned off the ventilation and have the tube removed with the aim of discharging him before his third birthday.
His parents say they wouldn't have coped without the house and the charity and are urging people to support it whenever they can.
"It would have been difficult," said Joy. "Considering how complex Nathan was and how we get called by the hospital out of hours, it would have been hell on earth to drive down all the way from Bolton to the hospital.
"I want to plead with you out there to support Ronald McDonald House Charities UK. They need your support to help families, especially like us, who haven't been home in years. We really appreciate everything that they have done and continue to do."
To find out more about Ronald McDonald House Charities, visit the website here.
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