Charlotte: “I wanted to turn Harry’s story into something positive”
When Charlotte Robinson’s brother, Harry, was admitted to Sheffield Children’s after returning home from the trip of a lifetime, at first, they didn’t know what was wrong.
Charlotte said: “In 2015, our lives were demolished in a medical tornado. Upon returning home from his trip, Harry became very ill.
“He had an infection which took hold rapidly. The day after being admitted to hospital, Harry had a catastrophic seizure that nearly took his life. It was so chaotic and scary.”
Charlotte, who was 18 years old at the time, knew her brother had been admitted to hospital and was visiting after work that day. But before her shift finished, she received a call from her mum asking her to come now because Harry was in a coma.
For ten days, Charlotte and her family waited anxiously by Harry’s bedside for him to wake up.
“It was very difficult to leave him at the hospital, but the doctors and nurses made everything so much less scary” - Charlotte
She said: “Sheffield Children’s worked tirelessly to find out what had happened, and more importantly, how we could help Harry beat this.”
It turned out that a normal case of “food poisoning” had taken an immense hold on him and caused a condition called Post-Salmonella Encephalopathy.
Charlotte said: “When Harry woke up, he didn’t recognise us, and he couldn’t move or speak to us. It was truly devastating.”
Harry remained at Sheffield Children’s for two to three months. As a result of his condition, he suffered a brain injury which meant he couldn’t move, eat, sit or feed himself.
Charlotte said: “We had to grieve for someone who was still with us. We started to navigate Harry’s new life and journey. With lengthy hospital and rehabilitation stays, fighting and battling every day to do what’s best for him.”
Now, Harry is 14 years old, but he is supported by his family to do things that other teenagers do. His hobbies include visiting the cinema and going bowling, which he really enjoys.
Charlotte is now the team leader for Harry and manages the day-to-day running of his staff team, diary, appointments etc. She said: “He has a great sense of humour and is so loving. He struggles every day but keeps on going like the true hero he is. He’s amazing and we love him so much.”
Harry still attends Sheffield Children’s today for regular reviews and support.
“Harry climbs a mental and physical uphill battle every single day, so I wanted to symbolise that by Climbing Mount Snowdon.” - Charlotte
Ten years after his hospital admission, Charlotte and her cousin, Connie, completed their hike for Harry, climbing the highest mountain in England and Wales, Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon).
Despite never having done a monumental hike like this one, Charlotte says she “knew it was the right thing to do” and that the family wanted to “do something special for Harry”.
They also wanted to ‘give back’ to Sheffield Children’s as a token of appreciation for everything they have done for them and Harry.
Charlotte took on the fundraising hike on Saturday 29 March. She said: “I really struggled to begin with and did wonder what I had got myself into. However, I soon settled into it with encouraging words from Connie and messages from family and friends.
“The conditions were actually worse than I thought! We had been keeping an eye on the weather and reports, and I was aware it was going to feel like -8 degrees celsius.
“The winds up there were nearly 50mph – this combined with the cold, ice and fog left us with very little visibility near the summit, and we had to be extremely careful not to be knocked over by the wind. I had heat packs inside my gloves!
“I had an excellent tour guide in Connie, who is experienced in hiking and planning for every eventuality.
“I was so, so proud of myself at the summit and on a high the whole way back down. Now I can’t believe what I’ve achieved both physically and financially for the charity. I hope Harry is proud of me, too.
“You never know when you might need Sheffield Children’s, and we want to keep going above and beyond for other families.”
To take on your own fundraising challenge for Sheffield Children’s, get in touch at fundraising@sheffieldchildrens.org to find out how we can support you.
