Our Charity Patrons
Friends of PICU are wonderfully supported by a wide range of individuals, some of whom have a direct past connection with the PICU, or who have an affinity with the charity through their personal circumstances, family, or careers.
We are immensely proud to be supported by:
Sarah Parish and James Murray
“Back in 2009 my husband Jim and I lost our first daughter Ella-Jayne to a congenital heart defect CHD. It was an incredibly distressing, life changing time for us and when we finally recovered from the horror of it all we felt an overpowering need to help the people that had given us the short time we’d had with Ella-Jayne”.
“The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Southampton Children’s Hospital is where Ella-Jayne spent almost half of her life, and consequently it became home to us too. During our time at the hospital Jim and I had the privilege to witness first hand this incredible facility in action. The compassion, professionalism and skill of the clinicians that worked there was awe-inspiring”.
“There is only one way to numb the pain of losing a child and that is to help other children and their families. To try and make a difference to their lives and help give them the future they deserve. When we were asked to become the patrons of Friends of PICU, we were delighted to accept, and set ourselves the challenge of raising funds to cover the cost of a much needed new dedicated PICU family psychologist service”.
Since becoming Patrons they have helped raise over £250,000 to support not only the psychologist for 3 years, 2 new bed bays for the PICU, a specialist helicopter gurney to transport critically ill children via air ambulance, but also a specialist intensive care child’s bed. “We continue to support Friends of PICU and are proud to be their patrons”.
Sarah & Jim x
Ali Sparkes
“I felt a bit underqualified when Friends of PICU approached me to become a patron,’ says Ali Sparkes, ‘but as a mum of two teenage sons, I certainly would want to know that this tremendous facility is there for my family in the event we needed it”.
Ali is a children’s author, with more than 30 books published, her novel ‘Frozen In Time’ won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2010. Ali travels the UK and Ireland, and beyond, performing at literary festivals and in schools – and writes at her Southampton home.
“I come from a nursing family – my mum was a ward sister at the Southampton General Hospital, my older sister is a practice nurse, and my dad and my younger sister are podiatrists. But I have a writer’s imagination and it doesn’t take much to know how traumatic it would be to arrive at the Children’s Intensive Care Unit because someone you love is seriously ill”.
“Of course, I did have to query my suitability as a patron. After all, in my books I put my young characters through all sorts of trauma from car crashes, explosions, to cable car falls, flash floods and tidal waves! Happily, though, as the author, I have the power to make everything alright again. A parent whose child is critically ill doesn’t have that power. What I’ve learned about PICU since getting involved makes me realise how vital it is, and something we cannot do without”.
James Haddock
James Haddock is a TV presenter and reporter on Sky Sports Golf. James has been with Sky since 2003, and a golf reporter for Sky Sports News since 2008, presenting for Sky Sports men’s and ladies European Tour, and on Sky Sports PGA Tour. Amongst his duties he spends a lot of time covering the 4 Golf Majors in the USA and UK and the bi-annual Ryder Cup.
In 2015 James was approached to help with our annual Golf Classic charity day, and kindly accepted. Alongside some fabulous prizes that James has provided for various winners, his support has helped raise the profile and income of this event for which we are sincerely grateful.
James is a father of two young girls and lives in Hampshire, and whilst his family have not personally required the care of the PICU, is acutely aware of the vulnerable nature of babies and young children and therefore the benefits to have such an excellent facility in this region.
Since the start of his participation, James and his family have been generous supporters of the charity through running their own event, providing raffle prizes for events, coordinating collection pots in their local area, and attending our golf day and other charity led events.
“I was invited to become a Patron of Friends of PICU in 2018 and without hesitation accepted. It has been a privilege to be involved”.