Thomas Treibel
A Star Fund, in memory of Elouisa, to raise money for Sparks
Fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity
Story
Our incredibly beautiful daughter Elouisa was born on June 9th 2012. She weighed 7lbs1oz / 3.195kg. She had tiny curls, strong arms and legs, and a rosebud mouth - a miniature copy of her mummy's - which was made for pouting.
Lucy's labour had been induced at 42 weeks' pregnancy. Incredibly sadly, during this process, Elouisa was suddenly and completely deprived of oxygen. Despite being born by very rapid emergency C-section, she sustained almost total brain damage and died in our arms, aged only 48 hours, on June 11th.
Elouisa's brain injury was so severe that she had no chance of surviving, even though she was such a strong and healthy little girl. There is no treatment available that can reverse such damage.
However, other babies who are deprived of oxygen for shorter times, or in less catastrophic ways, can benefit from the currently available treatments. These are focused on cooling the babies' temperatures by a few degrees Celsius, in order to prevent the further spread of any damage done to their brains and bodies. In this way, many babies can be given a better quality of life, with fewer - or even no - disabilities. In some cases, the treatment may save their lives.
Sparks (www.sparks.org.uk) is a charity which funds research into a large number of conditions affecting babies and their mothers, before and after birth. They began investing into research into cooling treatments over ten years ago, and body cooling was subsequently rolled out in 2009 as standard NHS treatment in specialist hospitals. They are currently funding research into new types of treatment, including one that utilises xenon gas, which is likely to improve the outcomes for many more babies. Any money that is raised by Elouisa's Sparks Star Fund will go towards research funded by Sparks, and therefore towards helping other babies have a better start in life.
Please feel free to take a look at the photos of her which we have included here. [NB - as of early January, we have removed most of these from this site, but have left one for you to see.] We would be delighted if you also wanted to donate in memory of our little girl.
With our thanks and love,
from Elouisa's parents, Thomas & Lucy Xxx