'If it wasn't for this hospital and its staff, our son would not be here'

It is part of Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust and one of only four specialist children's hospital trusts in the country. It now has around 140 acute beds, providing specialist care for children up to the age of 16.

Its teams of doctors and surgeons see round 180,000 patient

appointments each year, not only from Yorkshire, but across the UK, Europe and beyond.

The hospital is supported by the Children's Hospital Charity, set up in 1975, which helps raise funds for specialist medical equipment. In 2008, the charity funded the UK's first Paediatric Clinical Research facility at the hospital, as well as funding a 120,000 specialist intensive care ambulance used to transport critically-ill children between hospitals.

This year, the charity needs to raise 1.9m for various projects and research work. David Vernon-Edwards, director of The Children's Hospital Charity, says the money raised makes a huge difference to patients' lives.

"Our young patients are at the centre of everything we do, and all our work is focused on providing them with the best facilities, equipment and experience possible, helping to provide a world-class facility.

"But we could not do any of our work though without the generosity of the people of South Yorkshire, whose warmth and kindness has supported our work over the years – from the 90-year-olds who have donated their birthday money, to the nine-year-olds who have taken part in sponsored events on our behalf. They are truly inspiring."

Paige Holmes, 14 from Crich, Derbyshire

Paige Holmes was hit by a car while out playing with friends in August last year and was rushed to hospital. The sports mad 14-year-old was transferred to The Children's Hospital, where doctors discovered she had suffered brain injuries.

Her mother Shirley says: "Finding out that Paige had been hit by a car was my worst nightmare. She had been out and about in Matlock with

three other friends when it happened. It was all quite a blur really."

She was initially sent to Chesterfield Hospital and then transferred to the Children's Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). "She was

unconscious, covered in cuts and bruises and had a broken collar bone, but it wasn't until she had a CT scan that we realised the full extent of her head injuries."

The scan revealed the teenager had suffered one of the most common and devastating types of brain injury. "It was just heart- breaking seeing Paige lying there and not being able to communicate with her.

"The ICU staff explained that her head injuries were so severe it was the equivalent of Shaken Baby Syndrome. She has always been such an active child and loves playing basketball, hockey and going skiing. It was just so upsetting to think she might never be able to enjoy sport again."

After three weeks in intensive care Paige was transferred to the new Neurosciences Ward and Shirley has nothing but praise. "The doctors and nurses have been wonderful. They have not just cared for her like a patient but as a member of their own family," she says.

"Paige spent over six months in hospital but is now back home.

"She took her first steps recently and is getting better with her

speech everyday. She is also taking riding lessons as the physiotherapists said that this should help with her posture. "

Finlay Hewitt, five, from Netherthorpe, Sheffield

When Finlay Hewitt fell off a toy car and bumped his head while playing at a friend's house last summer, it seemed the kind of innocuous incident that happens all the time. But just a few hours later the youngster was undergoing emergency surgery at The Children's Hospital after doctors diagnosed a life-threatening bleed on his brain.

"He had no cut or bruise and seemed fine, but four hours later he felt sleepy and wanted a cuddle. He then started being sick," says his father, Fraser. They called an ambulance and he was taken to the A and E department at The Children's Hospital. "We initially thought it was concussion but the doctor who saw Finlay wasn't happy with the way his eyes looked and wanted him to have a CT scan straight away. It was all very quick."

The scan confirmed the doctor's fears and Finlay underwent emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.

"The operation went well and after spending a couple of days on the Intensive Care Unit and then a couple of days on one of the wards, amazingly he was able to come home," his father says. "If we weren't fortunate enough to have the Children's Hospital here and have access

to a CT scanner I truly believe we would have lost our son.

"Finlay is now back to his normal self and the only thing to remind him of what happened that day is a small scar on his head, which he calls his 'caterpillar'."

Carter Whitlam, one, from Hansworth, Sheffield

Carter Whitlam was born with a diaphragmatic hernia in July last year. He had only one lung and, at just four days old, he had to be moved to the Neonatal Surgical Unit at the Children's Hospital for vital life-saving surgery.

"Before he was born, doctors told us Carter's stomach and bowel were in his shoulder and chest area where his left lung should be, pushing his heart to the right-hand side of his chest," his father Barry, says.

"They said that Carter's chances of survival at this point were 50:50."

After eight weeks, the baby was allowed home. But just a couple of

months later he was rushed back to hospital.

"Doctors suspected he had a perforated bowel and performed emergency surgery that day. The operation lasted almost six hours and the surgeon told us it was the most serious case he had ever seen."

Barry and his partner Laura were told the following 24 hours would be critical. "He was ventilated on the hospital's Intensive Care Unit and was given drugs and fluid to keep him alive. Pressure was building up in his body, causing his organs to shut down and the only solution was to open his stomach to let the pressure out. The doctors told us to expect the worst," his father says.

"During surgery Carter's heart stopped twice and the medical team performed CPR to bring him back to us. A staff nurse was helping keep him alive by squeezing a bag filled with air attached to his mouth and nose. The nurse did this for three hours."

At one point there were 15 medical staff frantically working to keep Carter alive. "He was described as the 'Christmas miracle', because the extent of his condition meant he shouldn't be here."

He was moved on to a ward, only to have a relapse over Christmas, which put him back in intensive care, suffering two life-threatening

conditions in as many weeks. Since then his condition has improved, and in June he was allowed to go home. He still relies on two different inhalers to help his lungs, but his family hope he is through the worst of it.

"Until Carter was born, I had absolutely no idea that we had some of the best medical equipment and people in the country right on our doorstep. If it wasn't for this hospital, its staff and equipment our son would not be here."