It was one of the hardest moments of Ryan Halls' life when his new-born daughter Sadie was rushed to hospital struggling to breathe.

Eastern Daily Press: Tiffany Halls with Sadie in hospital when the baby was suffering from bronchiolitis. Picture: Ryan HallsTiffany Halls with Sadie in hospital when the baby was suffering from bronchiolitis. Picture: Ryan Halls (Image: Archant)

Two years on and Sadie is a happy and healthy two year old - and Mr Halls is a very thankful daddy.

So much so that the chief petty officer has raised nearly £935 for The Sick Children's Trust which provided the Thetford family with free accommodation while their daughter was in hospital in 2016.

Mr Halls organised a fundraiser aboard the Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster, which saw he and his colleagues organise a pizza delivery service aboard the ship, hand delivering pizzas at £5 each to sailors' cabins.

He raised the money after Sadie, when she was only a few weeks old was rushed to hospital suffering from bronchiolitis, which blocks the smallest airways of the lungs causing infections and filling them with mucus, making it hard to breathe.

Eastern Daily Press: Sienna and Sadie Halls today. Picture: Ryan HallsSienna and Sadie Halls today. Picture: Ryan Halls (Image: Archant)

After Sadie deteriorated in hospital, she was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge two days before Christmas.

That was when Mr Halls and his wife, Tiffany, were offered one of The Sick Children's Trust's Homes from Home, allowing them to stay in free accommodation only a few minutes' walk away from the intensive care unit.

Mr Halls said: 'Finding out Sadie needed to be transferred to Cambridge just two days before Christmas was really tough.

'At a time when we were meant to be celebrating our newest arrival we found ourselves miles from home and unsure about what the future held. Fortunately she began to improve quite quickly and it wasn't long before we were reassured that she would make a full recovery.'

The family stayed in Acorn House, run by The Sick Children's Trust, for eight days whilst Sadie was undergoing treatment at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Mr Halls added: 'The nurses on the ward were amazing and it was them who told us about The Sick Children's Trust. In Acorn House, because it was Christmas, we kept finding presents on our bed donated by families who had previously been supported by the charity.

'It was such a lovely touch, especially as Tiffany and I had no time to go shopping so it meant that Sienna had something to open when our family brought her to visit.'