MONMOUTH mum Sophie Graefe is fundraising this October to raise money for a children's ward.

During the pregnancy of her identical twin boys, Samuel and Thomas, Sophie was diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a condition which involves a complication of disproportionate blood supply, resulting in a high mortality rate.

Despite this diagnosis, everything was fine for the boys until one day when Samuel stopped breathing in the family's living room. He was swiftly transferred to Nevill Hall's children's ward where he was given oxygen.

Thomas became ill with both bronchiolitis and swine flu just before Christmas last year and was also transferred to Nevill Hall's children's ward to be given oxygen.

A CPAP machine would've helped Thomas much more, which is why Sophie's team of family and friends are running to raise funds towards a £10,000 machine being installed in the children's ward.

The machine delivers a stream of compressed air at a prescribed pressure, so that unobstructed breathing becomes possible. It is often used to treat obstructive sleep apnea

For full story see Beacon 10/08/11