Parents of children with rare birth defects which mean they cannot eat or drink and had to have emergency surgery at two days old get matching feeding tube tattoos

• Rebecca and Tom Golding’s children Izzy, four and Will, two, both can’t swallow
• The children from Sidcup in south east London had gastrostomies fitted
• Rebecca and Tom said the kids love their matching feeding tube tattoos  

A couple with two young children who cannot eat or drink have had matching tattoos of feeding tubes so their children don’t feel different.

Rebecca and Tom Golding’s children, Izzy and Will, both live with feeding tubes to ensure they can receive nutrition safely, meaning they are unable to enjoy food like other children.

Izzy was born in April 2018 with a rare birth defect that affected her oesophagus and her trachea (airway) and meant she needed life-saving surgery at two days old at Evelina Children’s Hospital in London.

Tom and Rebecca, from Sidcup, south east London, decided to get matching feeding tube tattoos so their children Izzy and Will would be proud of having them

Both Izzy, four, and Will, two, were born with health complications meaning neither of them can swallow unaided

The couple decided to get the tattoos to support their young children

Rebecca, 35, from Sidcup, south east London, explained: ‘During her development in the womb, her food pipe mistakenly connected to her airway instead of to her stomach. 

‘We didn’t know it at the time, but milk and saliva was going straight to her lungs, which meant she was basically drowning.’ 

After Izzy was born, she was diagnosed with trache-oesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia.

NHS worker Rebecca recalled: ‘She was admitted to hospital 16 times in her first year and even now can only eat what you would give to an eight-month-old, like purees and some fruits. 

‘She can’t swallow fluid and she can’t eat sandwiches, chicken nuggets or ice cream – the things that other four-year-olds like.’

Instead, Izzy has had a button gastrostomy fitted – a small feeding tube inserted directly into her stomach so she can receive fluid without swallowing.

Izzy, who was born in April 2018, had to have an operation when she was just two days old

Will was born in October 2019, but soon after he was delivered his parents realised something wasn’t quite right

The siblings, who have both been diagnosed with conditions that mean they cannot swallow, had to have button gastrostomies fitted when they were just months old

NHS worker Rebecca said her children can’t eat and drink ‘the things kids like’ such as chicken nuggets or ice cream

Rebecca said four-year-old Izzy is ‘obsessed’ with her parents’ matching tattoos, while little Will is disappointed that they don’t move

Tom and Rebecca said they were enormously grateful to Evelina Children’s Hospital for saving their children’s lives 

Will developed sepsis shortly after birth and had to have emergency surgery at just two days old, exactly like his older sister Izzy

Rebecca said Will had to be resuscitated twice after he stopped breathing shortly after he was born

When the couple welcomed Will into the world in October 2019, they immediately knew something wasn’t right as he had trouble breathing and was vomiting.

The parents were terrified when doctors told them Will also needed emergency surgery at two days old after suffering from sepsis.

Rebecca recalled: ‘We took a massive psychological hit when he too had to be transferred to Evelina London. 

What is a button gastrostomy? 

A gastrostomy is a surgical opening through the skin of the abdomen to the stomach. 

A feeding device is put into this opening so that feed can be delivered directly into the stomach bypassing the mouth and throat. 

The feeding tube is used to administer both medicine and nutrients if the patient cannot get the nutrition they need. 

It is fitted in people who need long-term support with feeding in order to grow and develop. 

As well as using it for feeding and medicines, a gastrostomy can also allow gas to be ‘vented’ from the stomach to reduce bloating or to drain stomach contents.

 Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital

‘He stopped breathing twice and had to be resuscitated – it was a really frightening time.’

After three months in hospital, tests revealed Will also had a problem with swallowing.

He was diagnosed with laryngomalacia, a birth defect where the larynx (voice box) is soft and floppy. It meant that, when he took a breath, part of his vocal chord collapsed and blocked his airway.

Although surgeons were able to operate so Will could breathe more easily, he is still unable to swallow liquid as it causes him to develop chest infections.

When he was 10 months old he had a button gastrostomy fitted, just like Izzy’s.

After both of their children were fitted with feeding tubes, Rebecca and Tom wanted to do something to make their children proud, and came up with the idea of matching tattoos.

Rebecca said: ‘We wanted to symbolise what we have been through as a family and show Izzy and Will that having a button is something to be proud of. 

‘Izzy is obsessed with the tattoos, always asking to see them and saying “now we are all matching”, and Will has expressed his disappointment that ours don’t move!’

Tom took on a bike ride across the Scottish Highlands at the end of July to raise money for Evelina London Children’s Charity.

Before taking on the four-day challenge, the PE teacher said he wanted to raise as much money as possible for the ‘incredible hospital’.

He added: ‘I want to put myself through these tough challenges in order to thank Evelina London for saving my children’s lives – they will never know how grateful I am.’

So far Tom has raised a mammoth £7,100 for the charity and hopes the total will continue to rise. 

He has also previously run the London Marathon and cycled to Paris in aid of the charity, adding his fundraising total up to around £20,000 so far. 

Louisa Ferguson, the surgeon who operated on Will, noted it was ‘quite uncommon’ for two children in the same family to need a feeding tube.

Iain Yardley, who operated on Izzy, said: ‘As a family, the Goldings have faced some really significant challenges with the complex conditions that both Izzy and Will have. 

‘It has been a massive privilege to be part of the huge team at Evelina London who look after them and support them as a family. 

‘Watching children like Izzy and Will overcome these challenges to grow up and blossom is why we do what we do.’

At the end of July Tom spent four days cycling around the Scottish Highlands to raise money for Evelina Children’s Charity

So far Tom and his team have raised £7,100 for the charity and they are hoping their total will rise

The father-of-two said the staff at Evelina Children’s Hospital will never know how grateful he is to them

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