As Ralph look forwards to his 3rd birthday we must not forget the courage Ralph has shown to reach this milestone.

Ralph spent his first 16 weeks in special baby care unit, during this time he had continous test to identify why he wasn't moving or feeding properly & remained floppy.

When his veins had collapsed they ended having to use veins & arteries in his head.

After a muscle biopsy in London, it was confirmed he had a rare & life-threatening condition 'Nemaline Myopathy'. This was when we were told he'd not live to the age of 1.

At 4 months Ralph was back to London for a major op called 'Fundilication', this is where they put a knot at the top of the stomach to prevent liquids going into his lungs.He also had a 'Gastostomy' tube fitted into his stomach to help to feed him replacing the one he had through his nose.

Ralph had a hard time recovering & worse was to come when he suffered 2 cardiac arrests which left him dependent on a ventilator.

He slowly recovered & his family finally got Ralph home when he was 6 months old.

He has to be watched 24 hours a day by his mum & carers.

As winter approached & Ralph caught R.S.V a horrid lung disease so he was back in London to be incubated again.He arrived back home but on 23rd of Decemember he suffered a respiratory arrest, the C.P.R team resuscitaed him but it was back to London for christmas.

The family was torn apart as Ralph's 2 older sisters were left to try & carry on normal life living with their Nan, while mum stayed with Ralph learning how to care for him.

It was February when he came home again but was completely housebound.

In May the decision was made to give Ralph a 'Tracheotomy' in the hope it would improve his life.The op went well & Ralph came back to Thanet, but was now dependent on the vent 24 hours.

Ralph had another long stay back in London then was allowed home when doctors had little hope of his survival.

That was September 2008.Ralph made a remarkable recovery once home for his family it was a time to be proud of Ralph & learn to live with the BIG changes having him home.

There is always someone around either his carers who watch over him 24 hours or other professionals who come to help him develop mentally.

Ralph still has difficulty breathing especially when sitting up, but this has improved over the year.

Ralph is still housebound so going out as a family is not an option.

This is why we're trying to raise money to but a specially adapted vehicle to take Ralph, his family & carers out along with all his vital equipment.