02/09/2026
We were delighted to welcome the Stoten family to neonatal unit. Madeleine was cared for on the unit, and here Sarah describes their experience:
'A year ago, just hours after Maddie was born, she became critically unwell and was rushed to St George’s neonatal unit.
We discovered she had been born with Tracheoesophageal Fistula (TOF), a rare condition which meant she needed life-saving surgery at just 24 hours old.
The care Maddie received at St George’s was extraordinary. The neonatal team, supported by First Touch, cared for her and for us through the hardest days of our lives. We will never forget the care they gave Maddie, and the support they gave us when we needed it most.'
Sarah and Tom are swimming the Solent later this month to raise funds for First Touch, and have already raised over £35,000! Some of the funds raised by their epic swim will go towards a much needed refurbishment of the St George's neonatal unit milk bank, which not only supplies life saving bank milk to our neonatal unit, but also to Kingston, Epsom and St Helier's and Croydon Hospitals!
Please support their JustGiving page here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/swim-for-madeleine?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Huge, huge thanks to Sarah, and Tom for taking on this amazing challenge, and also to all their generous supporters and friends!
