🐰💜 The Beginning of Our Charity Drive

Before we set off on our Team Millie Charity Drive – To Benidorm and Back in Memory of Millie Rose, there was one very special place we needed to visit first.

The RVI.

For me, this wasn't simply a stop before our journey began. It was a deeply emotional visit to the hospital where my beautiful daughter, Millie, received care from the incredible PICU team.

We took our rally car along to meet some of the amazing doctors, nurses and staff who cared for Millie. The car was already beginning to tell the story of what we were about to do, covered in messages of support and representing the journey we were preparing to take in Millie's memory.

Being back at the RVI brought so many emotions. This is a place that holds some of the hardest memories of my life, but it is also a place where people showed Millie and our family such compassion, kindness and dedication when we needed it most.

💜 Saying Thank You

One of the most important reasons for our visit was simply to say thank you.

Thank you to the doctors.

Thank you to the nurses.

Thank you to the PICU team.

Thank you to everyone who cared for my beautiful girl.

There aren't really words big enough to express how grateful I will always be for the people who looked after Millie during such an incredibly difficult time.

Although nothing could change what happened, I will never forget the care, compassion and kindness that was shown to her and to our family.

Being able to stand there and personally thank members of the team was incredibly special.

🧸 Our Very First Teddy Donation

During this visit, we also made something that would become incredibly important to our fundraising journey.

Our very first teddy donation. 🧸💜

This was the beginning of our teddy donations in Millie's memory.

There was something incredibly emotional about taking those first teddies into the hospital that had cared for my daughter.

These little teddies weren't just toys.

They were intended to become little companions for children going through their own hospital journeys.

Something soft to cuddle.

Something to hold.

Something to provide a little comfort during what could be a frightening and unfamiliar time.

Knowing that our first donation was going to the RVI made it even more meaningful.

This was the place where Millie's story had unfolded, and now we were returning with something that we hoped could bring a little comfort to another child.

🚗 The Start of Something Bigger

At the time of this visit, we hadn't yet travelled to Spain.

The rally car hadn't completed its thousands of miles.

Buddy hadn't travelled through France or crossed the Pyrenees.

We hadn't reached Benidorm.

All of that was still ahead of us.

But standing at the RVI that day, it already felt like the charity drive had begun.

The visit gave us a chance to pause and remember why we were doing this before we set off.

We were preparing to take the car from County Durham, through Europe and all the way to Benidorm and back again.

But at the heart of the journey wasn't the destination.

It was Millie.

🐰💜 Carrying Millie's Name Forward

Seeing the rally car at the RVI, with all the messages of support, was incredibly powerful.

It represented what we were about to do.

We weren't simply going on a road trip.

We were taking Millie's name, her memory and her story with us.

Every mile that followed would be connected to her.

And our first teddy donation became the beginning of another part of her legacy — helping us support children and families through the work we hope to continue through The Millie Rose Foundation.

Looking back now, I'm so glad this was one of the first things we did.

Before the ferry crossings.

Before the long drives.

Before the mountains.

Before Benidorm.

Before Buddy's journey began.

We went back to where so much of Millie's story had taken place and said:

Thank you. 💜

💜 Forever Grateful

I will always be grateful to the PICU team for everything they did for my daughter, Millie, and for the kindness they showed me and my family.

That visit will always hold a special place in my heart.

It was emotional.

It was difficult.

It was incredibly meaningful.

And it marked the beginning of our journey.

From that first teddy donation at the RVI to Buddy travelling thousands of miles across Europe, everything we did was connected by one very special little girl.

My Millie Rose. 🐰💜

Before we ever reached Benidorm, we had already started her journey.

And from that first visit, we knew exactly who we were doing it for.

For Millie.
For her memory.
For her legacy.
And for the children who need a little comfort along their own journeys. 💜🧸