Give four-year-old Romeo a special day out

MyLondon are fundraising to help Donna and Romeo to help them spend some quality, precious time together :)

https://www.mylondon.news/news/cost-of-living/i-cant-afford-coffin-funeral-25304624

Donna, a Mum from North London whose son Romeo is living with a terminal illness fears she won't be able to give him a proper funeral or even afford a coffin when he loses his battle because the rising cost of living has left her struggling to get by. Donna Brady, 38, from Camden, was told during pregnancy that her son Romeo "wouldn't see his first birthday" because of a serious heart condition.

Romeo was born with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR) which sees oxygen-rich blood return to the wrong side of his heart and he also has dextrocardia which means his heart is on the right side of his chest instead of the left. His mum described him as having his heart "on the other side of his body and inside out".

Now age four, Romeo has defied the odds but his mum says she is now struggling to make his life fulfilling while he is still with her due to squeezed finances.

Donna said: "A coffin is unbelievably expensive and all of the other funeral costs. That terrifies me to be honest. And if he passes away tomorrow I wouldn't want him sitting in a freezer while I scrape together to try and bury him. I just would want him to lay him to rest straight away."

The Children’s Funeral Fund for England can help to pay for some of the costs of a funeral for a child under 18 but Donna said she would still struggle to get enough together to then claim some of it back.

Donna is doing her best to give Romeo a stimulating and fulfilling life while feeling like they are on "borrowed" time. She said they try to do things together like going to the Natural History Museum, but factoring in travel and lunch can be a squeeze. She added: "He loves magazines, but they have gone up from £4.50 to £6.99. I have to say to him, 'we can get milk, bread and butter or a magazine'. To say no to a child that hasn't got long left is really, really difficult."

Donate what you can to help Donna and Romeo spend some quality time together, from Lucy x

To read more of Donna and Romeo's story, you can read about them here