Alice Mary Rowlands was born six weeks early on 25 September 2007 at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. It was soon apparent that Alice was very seriously ill, which was devastating news for my husband Paul and I, and for our six year old son, Sam.

But Alice was a strong little girl and she fought hard to stay with us. Suspecting a liver problem, Alice’s doctors consulted the world’s specialists at King’s College Hospital, carrying out tests on their advice. The results of those tests were not good. Alice had Neonatal Haemochromatosis – an extremely rare condition. She had acute liver failure and urgently needed a transplant if she was to survive.

On Saturday 29 September, at 5 days of age, Alice was transferred to King’s College Hospital. It all happened so quickly. Nobody had warned us that Alice might have to go to King’s. Within 2 hours of telling us she was to be transferred, Alice was taken away to London. We were not given the option of going with her. We were given a piece of paper with a map and a telephone number and left to work the rest out for ourselves. I was discharged from the postnatal ward in a state of shock.

It was incredible that in such a state we were expected to make our own arrangements to go to London and find somewhere to stay. We had never realised that hospitals did not accommodate the parents of sick children. We left for London early on the Sunday morning, taking Sam with us, not really knowing what to expect or how long we would be gone. It was totally surreal. We could not believe what was happening.

The staff at King’s College Hospital, although they took very good care of Alice, showed little or no appreciation of our circumstances. It was stressful staying in the hospital beside Alice’s cot, but we had nowhere else safe to go. By Tuesday morning we were on our knees and wanted to go home. I fell apart. It was more than I could bear.

Then, finally, we managed to find someone at the hospital who was interested in taking care of us as a family. Diana took the time to listen to us and realised that we really needed somewhere closer to the hospital to stay. She made enquiries and the next day told us a room had become available at the Ronald McDonald house. It was truly a blessing.

Until then, apart from putting our change in the collection boxes at McDonalds, we knew nothing about Ronald McDonald Houses. We imagined that the house would be no more than a basic hostel. When we went to look around we were very pleasantly surprised.

The house was clean, homely and comfortable. The kitchen was well equipped. There was plenty of space for Sam to play. We had somewhere safe where we could cook a meal, wash our clothes and get some rest, knowing that we were only minutes away from Alice’s bedside.

It wasn’t just the comfort and convenience of staying in the house. The staff were amazingly supportive, which made all the difference. Una and Diane made us feel so very welcome, they genuinely cared about us all. We also made friends with several other families, and we continue to comfort and support each other.

But the most important thing about staying at the Ronald McDonald house was that we could spend so much more time with Alice. If we needed a break we could go back to the house, then return, refreshed. We were able to take turns to spend the evenings at Alice’s bedside, while one of us looked after Sam. And when we knew Alice didn’t have much time left, our relatives stayed in the house to take care of Sam while we stayed with Alice through the night.

Alice passed away on 10 October 2007, just 15 days old.

After Alice died we set up a Justgiving web page in her memory, to raise money for RMHC. We invited people to make a donation rather than sending flowers for the funeral. Friends and family all wanted to do something to help. Here was something positive that people could do. Although nothing could ever have eased our pain, in a way it was comforting to see the donations flooding in with people’s sympathy messages. In less than a week, and before Alice’s funeral, we had beaten our target of £1000. It was amazing. We have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity.

Alice touched so many people in her short life, and it fills us with pride to know that she has inspired such charity in people who never even met her. Our fundraising has been an important part of the healing process for all of us. It has been a way to remember and honour our precious little girl, whilst at the same time helping other families.

Thanks to RMHC we were able to enjoy the time we spent with Alice, which was so very precious, and something no amount of money could ever buy. We are eternally grateful.