After spending two weeks on the Special Care Baby Unit at Furness General Hospital with her daughter Imogen last year, mum Ellie Benn celebrated her first birthday with a daring sponsored skydive, raising over £850 for the Unit through Bay Hospitals Charity.
Ellie said:
“Our little girl Imogen was born at 34 weeks and weighed a tiny 3lb 12ozs. After spending time on the Special Care Baby Unit it felt only right that we gave something back to the place which provided invaluable support during the first weeks of her life. The professional, emotional and social support from the whole team at the South Lakes Birth Centre was outstanding, and we have only positive memories of
what felt like the longest two weeks of our lives.
“To celebrate Imogen’s first birthday I decided to complete a skydive, and without hesitation wanted to raise funds for the SCBU. My husband Andy and I want to thank everyone who donated towards the skydive (family, friends and even strangers) and we are overwhelmed with how much was raised! It was very humbling to know that we had so many people who were willing to support what we believe to be such a worthy cause. We will be forever grateful to all the professionals at the South Lakes Birth Centre.”
SCBU Ward Manager Helen Wallace said:
“On behalf of the Special Care Baby Unit I would like to say a huge thank you to the Benn family for their extremely generous donation. This will go a long way in purchasing vital new equipment to improve care and experience for sick and premature babies and their families who need to use our service, and we highly appreciate their efforts in raising this money for us. We think Ellie is very brave for completing a sky dive! It was lovely to see Imogen and to see how well she is doing at home with her family. We will be in touch to let them know how we have utilised the donation.”
Bay Hospitals Charity is a registered charity which raises money to improve patient care and the hospital and community experience across University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. By donating to Bay Hospitals Charity you can fund the latest equipment and help make your local hospitals more comfortable, ensuring you and your loved ones get the best possible care and treatment.