The Ambler Crew
Local family, Nicola and Martin Ambler and their children, William, Holly and Alfie, are running, cycling and walking 1000 miles for The Sheffield Children's Hospital. Why? because Ward 6 is in desperate need of renovating and they simply want to give a little back for the support the hospital have given Alfie through his journey dealing with Haemophilia type A.
Nicola brought me up to speed with Alfie's illness. "In January 2018 our youngest son, Alfie then age 18 months old was diagnosed with severe Haemophilia type A, a rare genetic bleeding disorder and something we knew nothing about. From diagnosis things moved very quickly, Alfie had an emergency operation to drain a large haematoma on his forehead which required a stay on the Oncology and Haemotology ward also known as Ward 6.
"Whilst Alfie was in hospital Martin and I felt like we were on a crash course on Haemophilia! Alfie then needed a synthetic factor VIII replacement, this is done intravenously.
"Soon after his first operation he had another to fit a 'port a cath' which he still has today. His injections and any blood tests are done through this port. The days following his second operation he developed an inhibitor where his body was fighting the synthetic factor VIII, therefore it wasn’t working and so he began immune tolerance therapy, exposing his body to high doses everyday.
"Daily trips to the Children’s Hospital followed until we were able to do the injections at home. Even then Alfie needed weekly blood tests which have gradually become less and less over time.
"We do constantly have to look out for bruising, bumps and swollen joints and a raised temperature. Alfie’s condition is life long and he will continue to be cared for by the amazing doctors and nurses at Sheffield Children’s Hospital until he is an adult when his care will move to the Hallamshire."
"The fundraiser is a huge challenge for us, neither myself or my husband, Martin are serious runners! We haven’t run seriously since 2014, when we both trained for the half marathon! We both physically ache and I have run 27 days on the bounce! The children have been cycling and using the treadmill at home. We are so proud of them for taking on this challenge!
"As of 26 March we have done 409.58 miles!"
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