Well we did it !!! The weather was fantastic and we all had a great day. Thanks once again to Coversure insurance services, TLS Peacehaven LTD, M's cycle hire and Barnard flooring for there generous support and taking part in the cycling, as well as all the other riders. We finished the final lap just after Keira had done her lap round the track. Thanks to everyone who has sponsored us and if you haven't then there is still time to do so.

John, Nicola, Keira and all the riders.

 

With just one day to go we are all set and praying the weather is good on Sunday for the team.

Keira and the other cyclists have all been out on their bikes training for the big day.

We will post photo's on this page as the day unfolds, as well as more photo's and news on our website.

www.cycleroundsussex.info

 

Thank you for visiting our fundraising page.

Keira was born unexpectedly at 27 weeks, weighing just 1 lb 8 oz or 684 grams back in April 2008. She was so tiny and being born so early she needed a lot of additional help with her breathing and was ventilated for quite a few weeks. However after spending nine and a half months in hospital, mostly on the Trevor Mann Baby Unit, she finally came home in February of this year, the day after the big snow fall. She celebrated her 1st birthday a few weeks ago and she now weighs just over 18 lbs, this is something we could only dream about when she was born.

The care she received from all the staff on TMBU was fantastic. In 2008 there were 524 admissions to TMBU, with 273 babies requiring full intensive care treatment, of these 114 babies weighed less than 1500g at birth and of these 56 were more than three months premature of which Keira was one. There are 24 cots on TMBU, including 8 designated for intensive care, 6 for high dependency care and 10 special care. Expansion and refurbishment of the unit was completed in May 2008 whilst she was there and it made a real difference to the surroundings.

So what’s this fundraising all about ? Well, we, that is Keira’s parents, family and friends would like to give something back to the unit to help with the care of future babies. Keira's lungs were not ready to support her when she was born so she spent all her time in hospital on various machines designed to support her breathing. Some of the vital equipment Keira used was also donated like the Vapotherm machine Keira spent much of her time on, this provided gentle and controllable breathing support and also meant we could see her face for the first time without a hat or mask like in the photo above. A group of us have decided to jump on our bikes and raise some money to purchase an Optiflow machine which is a newer version of Vapotherm, we are going to pedal our way round Sussex, well sort of !!!

At Preston Park cycle track on Sunday 12th July 2009 a small group of cyclists plan to ride a total of 200 miles between them, this distance equates to the total number of miles round the Sussex border and of course TMBU being the only level 3 intensive care Neonatal unit covering the whole of Sussex it seemed like an ideal goal. We hope some of Keira’s nurses may be able to come down and cheer us on.

Please support us in raising money to purchase this piece of equipment which will make a real difference to babies born in Sussex and the surrounding counties.

The money goes to Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS Trust who coordinate donations to Trevor Mann Baby Unit charitable funds.

Further information on the event can be found at www.cycleroundsussex.info/

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor the group of riders taking part.

The Trevor Mann Baby Unit 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.