Dunfermline Press and Fife Free Press Readers

If you are visiting this page to make a donation further to the article that you read on one of the above newspapers then thank you very much. According to this page the target of 15k appears to have been reached but the reality is that there is no limit or target to the funds that we would like to raise. Anything over and above 15k will go towards another piece of equipment for the ward.

Be assured that donating via this page means that the funds go directly to the wards bank account plus gain gift aid donations too.

Below is "our" story

Thanks, Barry, Rhona and Alanna. x

 

Help The Stars Who Care For Our Angels

The Neonatal Ward at Forth Park Hospital is a very special place. If your fortunate then you will never experience it, but if like us you are one of the people who has experienced it then you will likely share my view. In this ward you find yourself surrounded by sick babies, most of whom are there because they were born premature.

Our story is that we found ourselves at the hospital exactly 12 weeks before our child's "due date". We were only there as a precaution because my wife had had a few small pains that night and we expected to be sent home after a reassuring chat with the doctor. Nothing could have prepared us for what happened next - we found out my wife was in labour!!

So the next morning there she was, our little Princess Alanna weighing in at a little more than a bag of sugar. We were advised that the first 48 hours, then the next 48 hours were crucial, thankfully our story has a happy ending and she is now home and safe (update - she is now almost 1 year old and is doing great!!). I guess that for some other parents this story has a different ending.

Alanna got home aged 71 days but it was not all plain sailing. In her time at Forth Park she yo-yo'd in and out of intensive care for a while, received brain scans, received blood, was on a breathing machine for sometime, was given 3 courses of antibiotics, various xrays, eye tests, hearing tests, jaundice treatment and mum & dad also got the best antenatal experience possible.......practicing with our own child!!

In those 71 days of visiting the special care unit (Neonatal Ward) we met many other parents who were as worried as us but who all kept their spirits high. This could not have been achieved if we all did not have the utmost confidence and faith in the staff looking after our fragile babies. I cannot stress how good a job the nurses do. I also realised that whilst the ward is very advanced they also rely on donations and various fundraising initiatives etc to obtain some of that equipment.....that prompted me to create this page.

I could go on and on, but you probably get the drift by now. In summary this ward is a credit to itself and needs all the support it can get from you and I. A baby weighing less than a kilo is so vulnerable yet the staff remain positive and give parents hope. We saw so many happy parents going home, some of whom thought that they might never walk out with a baby car seat in their hand.

If we can raise 15000.00 then the primary objective is to buy a Cerebral Function Monitor which would compliment existing Neonatal Intensive Care equipment. This monitor helps to obtain a more complete picture of an infant's neurological condition.

If we can get more then perhaps could also buy an incubator, or heart monitors, or go towards helping to finance trips to and from the hospital for doting parents who otherwise might not be able to afford it (we managed 200+ trips in 71 days!). Whatever the money is used for please be assured that it is a very worthy cause.

If you are a parent yourself then read this page twice and imagine that you were in this position.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the ward and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - the ward receives more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now to assist the Stars who care for our Angels!.