Twin peaks? Make it three! (From Basingstoke Gazette)
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Twin peaks? Make it three!
5:00pm Saturday 2nd July 2011 in News By Helen Morton
Tony and Gemma Hart with twins Freddie and Noah
BEAMING for the camera, you would never guess that these tiny twins have battled their way through their first two years, with at least 25 hospital trips and multiple health problems between them.
Both Noah and Freddie Hart suffer from a variety of respiratory problems, meaning that they can find it tough to breathe and a simple cold can leave them on a ventilator.
In their short lives, they have battled their way through collapsed lungs, pneumonia, viruses and various infections The boys, who are two years old, suffer from Broncomalcia, meaning that their airways are around 50 per cent the size they would otherwise be. They are both being treated for asthma and chronic constipation and Noah also suffers from seizures, suspected to be epileptic.
Mum Gemma Hart, 28, of Abbey Road, Popley, Basingstoke, said: “It can be very hard and there have certainly been some dark moments for us. We once had to cope with Noah being on a ventilator in Southampton General Hospital’s Inten-sive Care Unit and Freddie being treated in Basingstoke’s High Dependency Unit at the same time, which was horrible.
“But we’re very lucky to have had such a fantastic team that have helped the boys so much.”
To say thanks to the team at the G2 Children’s Ward, at Basingstoke hospital, dad Tony Hart, who works with fencing and landscaping, is preparing to complete the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the ward.
Along with his brother Matt Hart, friend Dan Taylor and his dad Chris Hart as team driver, he will attempt to climb Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike on Saturday within just 24 hours.
Tony, 30, said: “I’m sure it will be hard but I wanted to do something that will hopefully inspire people to donate money.
“We’ve been doing some training and climbed Snowdon to try and prepare which went well.
“It will definitely be very tiring but it will be great if we can give the Children’s Ward a donation for all they’ve done for us.”
If youwould like to sponsor Tony, visit virginmoneygiving.com/team/3peaksg2.
