Biggleswade family's praise for hospital which saved son's life

Tommy Izzard, now aged eight months, has Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) which occurs when the diaphragm fails to form correctly in an unborn baby, allowing the abdominal contents to herniate into the chest cavity, which in turn prevents the lungs from developing properly.

Mum Lucie Brown was told that one of the twin boys she was carrying had a problem when she was 23 weeks pregnant. A scan at 30 weeks suggested that her child, by then known to be affected by CDH, had only a 35% chance of survival.

Tommy and his brother Patrick (who is not affected by the condition) were born by emergency caesarean section seven weeks prematurely at University College Hospital, London, on 8 November 2017.

Tommy was immediately placed in high level intensive care and was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) at six days old, where surgeons successfully operated to patch his herniated diaphragm.

Lucie and her partner, Tom, have been overwhelmed by the treatment and care Tommy has received at GOSH and the support her whole family have received from the charity CDHUK.

Lucie’s Mum, Georgie Timmins, said: “The past months have been very hard for us, but we could not have asked more for Tommy. The care he has received at Great Ormond Street has been first class, and we’ve had fantastic practical help and support as a family both from GOSH and CDHUK. We’re keen to raise money for both Great Ormond Street and CDHUK, and raise awareness of this little known condition.”

The family fun day is being held from 2pm to 6pm on Sunday, 8 July at the Cock pub in Church Street, Gamlingay.