On the 3^rd March 2020, 22-year-old Rhiannon Cook, gave birth to her baby boy Roman.

Roman was born at just 34 weeks at Rhiannon’s local hospital in Scunthorpe and was transferred to Leeds Children’s Hospital at just 11 days old after being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

The new mum spent a month in hospital on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Ward 50 with her little boy who has been on dialysis and had countless operations and procedures.

Now 10 months old, Roman still visits the hospital regularly for treatment as he has end stage renal failure and is on PD (peritoneal) dialysis at home.

Rhiannon is so thankful for the care Roman has received throughout his journey, “Roman has spent most of his life in four walls, either inside the hospital or at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. When we were in hospital, I cried literally every day, but the staff were always there to lift my spirits and have a laugh with me, you would never have known the extra pressure the pandemic was putting on them!

“This hospital has done so much for us and it is so important for me to give back and ensure they continue to being able to deliver to the same great service, experience and care that we’ve received to others.”

Rhiannon first decided to support Leeds Hospitals Charity on her birthday by setting up a Facebook fundraiser which raised an amazing £390 and this spurred her on to raise even more!

The grateful mum has now committed to fundraising for the charity throughout 2021 as a Hospital Hero. Rhiannon is kicking off her fundraising with the Leeds Parks Challenge, where she and Roman will walk 10 5ks around their local parks in Scunthorpe by the end of April.

You can donate to Rhiannon’s Leeds Parks Challenge fundraising page https://leedscares.enthuse.com/pf/rhiannon-cook

There’s still time to join in the challenge, get involved here. 

If you’re interested in becoming a Hospital Hero and giving something back to our NHS heroes in Leeds, you can sign up here.