Freya's journey - Acorns Children’s Hospice

Will you help families like Freya’s to feel less alone?

All Sophie and Jack ever wanted was a family of their own. Like so many new parents, they’d imagined the usual milestones like messy mealtimes, first steps, and play dates with friends. Sophie’s pregnancy had gone perfectly.

Then Freya arrived, and within three days, her heart stopped. After emergency surgery and weeks of procedures, Sophie and Jack got the news that turned their world upside down, Freya had a rare metabolic condition. A lifelong diagnosis that would cut her life short.

Sophie knew that becoming a mother meant her life would change, but this was a change she hadn’t prepared for. Every moment was marked by medication schedules, symptom checks and a quiet fear. She no longer knew where ‘mum’ ended and ‘medical mum’ began. It was, she says, a very lonely place to be.

“The future we had so desperately hoped and wished for was now being taken from us.
That is when Acorns came into our lives.”

– Sophie, Freya’s mum

A smiling woman sits on a sofa with a young child and a baby in her arms

Donate to help families like Freya's

Your donation helps Acorns provide specialist care, practical support and meaningful moments for local children and their families.

How Acorns helped

From their very first visit to Acorns, everything changed. For the first time, Sophie could sit with other parents who simply understood.

While Freya received expert, loving care, Sophie could rest – really rest. Acorns gave her something she hadn’t known she needed, a community, and the chance to just be mum.

A donation today means that more parents can simply be mum or dad again

“Acorns allows me to just be mum to Freya – without keeping a lookout for symptoms
or checking when her medication is due.”
– Sophie, Freya’s mum

Donate today

Making a donation today means another parent, like Sophie, won’t have to face their child’s illness alone.

A smiling woman sits next to an Acorns Nurse at an Acorns hospice. She is holding a baby and a young child in her arms and smiling

£20 could help families like Sophie and Freya’s to feel less alone.

A young child lies on a bed at an Acorns hospice. She is being cared for by an Acorns Nurse

£45 could fund a specialist nurse to care for a child like Freya overnight.

A smiling woman stands in an Acorns hospice with a young child in her arms

£100 could help keep Acorns doors open for families who rely on us.

A woman stands in a Acorns hospice garden and holds a small child in her arms. They are looking at each other

Choose your own amount to support local children and families.

Freya’s journey