A COUPLE have described their terrifying ordeal after their son was born seriousiously ill - and of their appreciation for a charity which provided them with a home from home while he underwent life-saving treatment.

Jenni Taylor of Esh Winning, County Durham said: “When our son Samson was born eight weeks early in May 2015, it turned our world upside down.

“In my 19th week of pregnancy, we were told he would be born with congenital heart defects, so we had expected difficulties. But the day he was born was terrifying.”

Shortly after his birth, doctors discovered Samson’s food pipe ended in a pouch so food couldn’t reach his stomach, while the lower part of the oesophagus had formed an abnormal attachment to his windpipe.

She said: “We were told he needed immediate surgery, and he was barely 12-hours-old when he was transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.”

Following the operation, The Sick Children’s Trust offered Jenni and husband Ben accommodation at nearby Crawford House.

She said: “We lived an hour away, so to have Crawford House was such a relief.

“In total, we spent almost three weeks there.

“There are no words to describe how much it meant to have a place to call home, just minutes away from Samson’s bedside.”

When he was 33 days old, he was well enough to be transferred to a hospital closer to home.

In February, at nine-months-old, Samson was admitted to the Freeman Hospital’s Children’s Heart Unit for open heart surgery congenital defects.

The Sick Children’s Trust’s second home from home in Newcastle, Scott House, was located just a short walk away from these wards.

Samson was discharged after just ten days.

Mrs Taylor said: “Since then, Samson has continued to amaze and astound us. The heart surgery has made a massive difference to him.

“We recently celebrated his first birthday – something we didn’t dare to even imagine a year ago.”

She added: “Without Crawford House and Scott House, we would have found Samson’s time in hospital so much more challenging. The accommodation they provide is priceless.– “We will never be able to thank this wonderful charity enough.”