My brave little nephew Elliott didn’t get the easiest start in life. Born with TOF he’s faced countless challenges and hurdles to overcome from day one, but he fought like a champ and was able to leave hospital after spending 6 months at Addenbrookes, Cambridge.
Elliott is a cute, happy, tough little lad who has overcome so much. So to help raise funds and awareness for TOFs his parents Lauren, Kieran and I are running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April.
To learn more about OA/TOF I’ve shared Lauren, Kieran and Elliott’s story from their fundraising page below.
Thank you so much reading and for your kind donations.
“Our youngest boy was born with OA/TOF and spent his first 6 months in Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. I bet the first question you are asking is "What the hell is TOF?" Yes, we had the same questions.
OA/TOF stands for Oesophageal Atresia (OA) and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF). They are rare congenital conditions of the oesophagus (food pipe) and/or trachea (airway) that affects 1 in every 3,500 people.
Essentially when Elliott was born his food pipe was connected to his lungs, and his pipe from his mouth was just a pouch which did not go anywhere.
Elliott was born 2 months early he had his first operation just one day old, to stop the stomach from being connected to his lungs. He had to have a tube in his nose to suck out the saliva in the pouch so he did not drown. This was not removed till 5 months later when then connected the food pipe to the pouch. It was only then we could see our babies face for the first time. All in all a tough start for him but he has been strong throughout!
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