Mum runs for hospital that saved daughter’s life

A determined mum ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Evelina London Children’s Charity to thank the hospital that saved her daughter’s life when she was just 6-weeks-old.

Rose Abbott’s daughter, Molly, was born 10 weeks premature. In November 2021, when she was still four weeks before her official due date, Molly became critically ill. She had contracted a rare virus that developed into bronchiolitis, followed by sepsis.

Molly was blue lighted to Evelina London from The Royal London Hospital paediatric intensive care unit and after 24 hours put onto Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), a temporary life support system for people whose lungs or heart have stopped working properly. Every year, approximately 200 children in the UK require life-saving ECMO treatment.

Rose, 39, who lives in Walthamstow, north east London with her husband, Sam, and Molly’s older brother, Hughie, five, said: “The virus was so vicious that her lungs needed a break, and the ECMO machine intervened to act as her lungs. There was nothing else after this for Molly, I knew that ECMO was the highest level of care.”

Molly was in intensive care at the children’s hospital, which specialises in ECMO, for seven weeks, and cared for by two ECMO specialist nurses around the clock. During this time Molly’s family celebrated Christmas day at her bedside, and put Christmas stockings up around her bed. They were able to stay close by in Ronald McDonald House, supported by Evelina London Children’s Charity, a ‘home away from home' for families whose children are being cared for in Evelina London.

Rose, head of brand for a cosmetics company, said:

If it wasn’t for this machine and the amazing team at Evelina London, Molly would not be here today. What Evelina London did for Molly and our family was nothing short of a miracle.

“I didn’t know how I would physically get through it, but a nurse told me to take it hour by hour, and I did. As we got past New Year Molly was able to come off ECMO and I could see a glimmer of hope, I just felt like it wasn’t real.”

Now, Molly is a feisty 3-year-old who loves playing outside. Rose said: “She has fight in her, and what she has faced comes through in her personality.”

This month Rose ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon to fundraise for Evelina London Children’s Charity. Molly, together with her brother and dad, were there to cheer Rose across the finish line. 

Rose, who ran the 13.1 mile course in 2 hours 10 minutes, said:

I am fundraising to help other families who are going through a similar situation. When you walk into Evelina London you just get a good feeling. The tiny small things add up to make the world of difference.

Evelina London was the first paediatric hospital in the UK to pioneer a special type of respiratory ECMO for small babies, like Molly, where blood is taken from the neck and returned via a vein in the groin. Compared to the standard procedure where blood is returned via the carotid artery, a major vessel supplying the head, this treatment reduces the risk of serious complications, including strokes. Since Molly received ECMO, clinicians at Evelina London have provided training for this life-saving treatment, and it has spread to multiple children’s hospitals across the UK and abroad.

Dr Jon Lillie, Molly’s clinician and consultant in paediatric intensive care, said:

It was a privilege to care for Molly. She was incredibly sick and at just 2.4kg, she was close to the limit of what is possible with respiratory ECMO, which we specialise in at Evelina London. She required an incredible amount of work and dedication from multiple teams across the hospital. It is fantastic to see that Molly is now thriving, and we wish Rose the best of luck with her fundraising.

Evelina London Children’s Charity supports the incredible care at Evelina London including playing a big part in creating Sky ward, where Molly received care whilst recovering. Thanks to funding from the Khoo Teck Puat UK Foundation, the Charity helped Evelina London to expand their intensive care so that they can treat even more critically ill children across south east England.

Laura Savory, Interim Director of Fundraising at Evelina London Children’s Charity, said: “It is thanks to our fantastic fundraisers, like Rose, that we’re able to support Evelina London to go above and beyond, creating a welcoming hospital which provides incredible care. We are all cheering on Rose, and know she will be making Molly so proud.”

Click here to donate to Rose’s fundraising.