Two events occurred in 2006 that changed our lives. Steve's twins were born 10 weeks prematurely and spent 2 months at Homerton Hospital neonatal unit. Pete's 4 year old son Finn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukeamia and is currently being treated at Great Ormond Street hospital and The Whittington hospital on a shared care basis.
We want to give something back to the people that saved the twins lives and are working to save Finn's life. As we are both keen cyclists we have organised a charity cycle ride, the proceeds to be split between our chosen charities. We have already received fantastic support from our friends, many of whom have agreed to join us cycling the Coast to Coast route from Whitehaven to Sunderland on 13 June 2007.
Tabitha and Zoe's Story...
My twins Tabitha and Zoe were born prematurely and spent 2 months in the neonatal unit at Homerton Hospital. Zoe stopped growing in the womb at 26 weeks and we were told the babies would have to be delivered early or she would not survive. We spent an agonising 4 weeks going for scans and waking up every day wondering if today was the day we would meet our babies. Zoe proved an amazing little fighter and hung in there for us. The babies were delivered at 30 weeks, Zoe weighing just over 2lbs and Tabitha just over 3lbs.
It was upsetting to see our babies for the first time in the neonatal unit. They were in incubators, covered in wires and hooked up to various alarms. They seemed impossibly small and had no fingernails, eyelashes or cartilage to keep their ears upright.
Premature babies can have so many complications and we began a rollercoaster of a journey, never knowing what we would find from day to day. There were terrible lows, the worst when Tabitha's lung collapsed and we received a phonecall at 5am to say they had nearly lost her in the night. Then amazing highs - like the day we came in to find the babies had 'graduated' into cots and we could cuddle them for the first time, without the help of a nurse.
We are so grateful to the staff at Homerton neonatal unit for helping our twins and would like to give something back. The hospital is currently fundraising to help improve facilities within the transitional care section of the Special Care Baby Unit. My wife 'roomed in' here with our girls before taking them home. The unit is small and cramped with up to 6 mothers and their babies sharing a room which wasn't exactly conducive to a restful nights sleep! With your help we can raise money to help them improve this facility.
Click here to donate to Pete's charity 'The Whittington'
Raised:
171%
Raised so far: £8,594.35
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Good to here the twins are doing well, Jack wants a Prem Party! Donation by Paul Negus on 04/08/07 |
£595.50 + £167.96 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Chris Le May on 30/07/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Final cash donations from tea making! Thanks to everyone at work who contributed Donation by Steve Crabb on 27/07/07 |
£91.25 |
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Well done guys Donation by Thorprar the Wizard on 27/07/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Did you cycle sideways Crabman? Donation by philip thorpe on 27/07/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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It was a pleasure to be involved Donation by Jonathan Head on 27/07/07 |
£137.00 + £38.64 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Matthew Gardner on 25/07/07 |
£250.00 + £70.51 Gift Aid |
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Well Done Matt G, many congratulations to you and all the other guys Donation by Chris Johns on 18/07/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Michael Kent on 11/07/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Well done Tom and everyone else - sorry it's late. Donation by Neet on 11/07/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Lynnecredit-suisse on 11/07/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well done, sorry we're late Donation by Kerry and Federico on 11/07/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well done guys...great weather for it! Donation by Tim Marchant on 11/07/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Nigel Kettlewell on 10/07/07 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
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Better Late Than Never Donation by Tony T on 10/07/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donations from Tony Price, Tony Whitefield, Mike & Trisha Gordon Donation by Danish Pete on 10/07/07 |
£34.00 + £9.59 Gift Aid |
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Well done to all of you Donation by Jon Laycock on 05/07/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Well Done all of you - Jon Head's sister Donation by Jo Abraham on 24/06/07 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Well done! Great Charities Donation by mhari on 22/06/07 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Well Done-Great effort Donation by Richard on 21/06/07 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Well done Steve! Donation by Tom Cloke on 20/06/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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More offline donations (thanks David and Janet) Donation by David Knight on 19/06/07 |
£22.00 |
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Good luck guys Donation by Nige on 19/06/07 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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john strachan sponsorship Donation by david carr on 19/06/07 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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On behalf of Brian Dickens (thanks Brian) Donation by David Knight on 19/06/07 |
£25.00 |
| * Total raised online: | £6,644.35 |
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| Offline donations: | £1,950.00 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £8,594.35 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £1,663.00 |
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