Tough Guy

On February 1st 2009 I am competing in Tough Guy for those of you who've not heard of the event -

http://www.toughguy.co.uk/

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=F9dep7RKVVA

Basically it is a 10 mile assault course involving freezing cold water, steep hill running, cargo nets, electric fences, long dark tunnels, nettles, manure, barbed wire, fire & electric fences.

Each year 100's of competitors suffer severe cramp, broken limbs, hypothermia and worse! Each competitor must sign a death warrant prior to the event. (So your family can't sue them if you die!)

Why?

In August my friends Rob & Danielle gave birth to twins, Molly (1lb 14oz) & Lilly (1lb 12 oz) at 24 weeks. Both were rushed to Luton & Dunstable Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they received an outstanding level of care.

Naturally both babies were very weak and had a lot of growing left to do. Sadly Molly was too poorly and passed away a week later, thanks to Luton & Dunstable NICU Molly's parents were able to spend as much time with her as possible and enjoy the time they had together. Lilly has had a number of operations and thanks to this specialist care is going from strength to strength, now weighing in at 6lbs 14oz.

***After 130 days, 6 Hospitals and many operations, Lilly is home with her family and settling in well. Mum & Dad are very happy as you can imagine***

The NICU has very limited space and has to turn away around 20 babies each month. Therefore I would like to ask you to help me raise as much as possible to help other premature babies receive the vital care needed.

Donation Information

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Luton and Dunstable Hospital Charitable Fund gets your money faster and, if you’re a taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Please be aware that all donations through this page will be allocated to the Luton & Dunstable NICU. I have spoken with the fundraising manager for Luton & Dunstable and she has assured me that this is the case.

From Luton & Dunstable NICU

Every year theLuton & DunstableHospital’s (L&D) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treats over 600 premature and critically ill full-term babies.  We offer the highest level of neonatal intensive care possible and are one of only three high-level neonatal units in the East of England.

Because of this and an increasing birth rate, demand for our specialist services has significantly outstripped resources and we currently have to turn away around 20 requests for a cot each month as the Unit is completely full.

The original neonatal unit at the L&D was built over 30 years ago and was so successful that in 1998 it was upgraded to provide a total of 20 cots.  NICU services are constantly responding to advances and developments in treatment techniques and technology - saving more lives and giving better outcomes for babies, even if they are born extremely prematurely. 

Recognising that our NICU offers such a critical facility, the L&D has managed to squeeze an extra nine cots into the unit giving a total of 29.  Although these extra cots were essential, the Unit is now so cramped that there is very little space between each of the cots making it difficult for staff to treat the babies and for parents to stay by their sides.  There is also no storage area for all the equipment to be kept and maintained. 

We are therefore planning to create a brand new NICU which will enable us to care for many more of the premature and sick babies born acrossLuton, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

This new state-of-the-art facility will feature leading edge technology and accommodate 46 cots.  It will also include much needed facilities for parents who want to stay close to their baby, including overnight accommodation, a breast-feeding room and two family rooms.  This will allow the NICU team to support parents more effectively whilst their baby is sick and also when preparing them to take their baby home.

The NHS has allocated £7 million to pay for the new building and will also fund all the additional staffing and running costs for the new Unit.  But in order to ensure that babies can be treated in the best possible environment and with the best possible equipment, we are launching the NICU Appeal to raise essential funds to buy additional equipment to go in the new Unit.
 
We need your help to raise £1.5 million to purchase new medical equipment

The new NICU, with all its specialist equipment, will enable us to treat around 300 more babies each year and save even more precious lives.  Your support will make a huge difference and we would like to thank you very much for your donation.