In 2012, my daughter Katie was born at 26 and a half weeks, weighing 2 pounds and 3 ounces. When babies are born so early there is no way they can survive on their own without being supported and this is where the Neonatal Unit over at Preston Royal Hospital really saved Katie's life. She was immediately taken over to the unit where she was kept in an incubator. Over the course of 3 months she received intensive care to ensure she had the best chance of survival as possible. Without the unit Katie would not be here today.

Not only did the staff look after Katie in the best way that they could, they provided comfort to my husband and I during the time we spent there. Spending every day on the unit visiting Katie was exhausting both mentally and physically but the staff always made sure we were okay. For this, we will be forever grateful.

Since October 2012 I have raised money on Facebook by donating the profits from by sweets and flowers business at certain times of the year.This is usually in the form of food and drink for the staff to enjoy while they carry out their intense work. More recently, I have also started to provide gifts to the family members of the premature babies in the unit; I provide mothers and fathers day gifts as well as gifts for siblings at Easter and Christmas etc.

So, what are we going to do?
On the first of July 2017 me and a group of volunteers are going to walk from Blackburn to Preston Hospital in the hope of being sponsored. All donations will be split equally between the Neonatal units at Preston and Burnley hospitals.

How can you help?
If you would like to help the cause then there a couple of things you can do:
-Donate through this Just-giving page, any donations are really appreciated.
-Take part in the walk and try and get some sponsors. If you would like to take part in the walk then drop me an email at Lynseycotton@aol.com