For families like Alayna's

Coming to Martin House during the festive period is the only chance Sophie and Jezz have so they can experience Christmas as a family with all their children. Their daughter Alayna, six, has suspected mitochondrial disease, and her health means they only feel safe coming to Martin House to celebrate Christmas events.

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“We never know if it’s going to be Alayna’s last Christmas, so being able to enjoy Christmas at Martin House means so much to us.”

"We came for end-of-life care in November 2018, and we thought Alayna’s first Christmas would be her last. Martin House organised a christening last-minute, we invited all our family and friends. We basically lived there for three weeks, and Martin House just took all the pressure off, so we could concentrate on what was going on with Alayna. 

It was going to be our Christmas, and we wanted to make it as magical as possible. We had family photos and opened presents, all of our family came. The boys were really young at the time, so we wanted to make it as special as possible for them as sad as we were. We were there as a family; we all slept in Alayna’s room and made it as Christmassy as possible with decorations and lights. People were singing Christmas songs with guitars, we thought this was going to be Alayna’s first and last Christmas. It was a really sad time, but Martin House made it as happy and magical as they possibly could. 

Fortunately, Alayna pulled through, and we truly believe she got better because of the care at Martin House, and the homely environment she was in."

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My Christmas wish is to spend time as a family together and create as many memories as we possibly can.

We know we would still have a Christmas if Alayna was to become unwell, because of Martin House. It’s somewhere we can call home, a place where you can still make memories in situations you wouldn’t think possible, even at the hardest times.

Sophie and Jezz
Alayna's parents
With your support, we can make every Christmas count

Please help us to raise vital funds this Christmas, so that families like Alayna's can make and treasure such special memories of every precious Christmas they have with their child.

Donate ÂŁ10

ÂŁ10 could help to keep our phone lines running, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So, that families can call us anytime they need us.

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Donate ÂŁ30

ÂŁ30 could help to pay for a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, for a family staying at Martin House to enjoy together.

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Donate ÂŁ50

ÂŁ50 could help bring the magic to our family Christmas party, helping to fund those extra little touches and activities that make it so special.

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