Blake's Family Takes to the Skies

After surviving meningitis as a baby, Blake's family wanted to give back to the hospital that saved him. Next week, they are taking to the skies to raise money for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity through a charity skydive.

'Our beautiful baby boy was born on the 15th March 2021 in the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, weighing 8lbs, 8oz.'

'As soon as he was born, Blake showed difficulty breathing and he was taken in an ambulance to Glasgow Children's Hospital.'

'Blake was admitted straight away to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where doctors made the difficult decision to sedate him and put him on life support.'

Blake's mum, robyn

'24 hours later, our boy was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.'

'Meningitis is the swelling of the meninges, which is the lining around the brain and spinal cord. It can kill within hours.'

'Blake was in the PICU department for 6 days. Within these 6 days, he had multiple procedures done, including going to theatre to have a central line inserted, blood tests, lumbar punctures, CT scans, feeding tubes, catheters inserted and more.

'The CT scan results confirmed that Blake had a blood clot in his brain.'

'Due to the clot, Blake had taken a seizure. This was a very distressing time for Blake and a living nightmare for us as his parents. We were utterly heartbroken watching our baby so ill.'

'The staff in the PICU department were complete lifesavers. Blake received 24/7 bedside care, and when we couldn't be with him, they sent us regular photo and video updates through the charity-funded service, vCreate.'

'By day six, Blake no longer needed intensive care.'

'He was moved to a different ward for an additional 14 days to receive further treatment for the meningitis.'

'On day 15, we were allowed to take our boy home.'

'This was the day we had been hoping and praying for. It was the best day of our lives.'

'We had to attend the hospital once a day for the next 7 days so that Blake could receive more antibiotics through an IV line.'

'For 3 months, we had to give Blake blood thinning injections twice a day to break down the blood clot.'

'Blake was also on medication for epilepsy.'

'1 in 10 people die from meningitis and 2 in 10 people are left with a brain injury or amputation.'

'On the 23rd May 2021, Blake went for an MRI scan of his brain. The results confirmed that the blood clot had reduced in size and Blake no longer needed his blood thinning injections.'

'Our strong, amazing little solider has made a miracle recovery.'

'Blake is now 2 years old and the happiest, clever, perfect little boy.'

'He is smashing all his milestones and more! Words can’t express how thankful we are to the amazing staff at the hospital.'

'They worked very hard to help our baby and support us as parents. Their knowledge and expertise are out of this world.'

Charity Skydive

Blake's parents, Robyn and Ross, and their friends Ewan and Kimberley are taking on a challenge of a lifetime to raise money for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

On Saturday 26th August, they will be jumping 10,000 feet from an airplane above St Andrews!

'We are raising funds for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity because we want to help other babies and children like our son Blake survive.'