FORMBY COUPLE'S £5,000 TARGET FOR NEONATAL UNIT

A Formby COUPLE who believe their young son owes his life to the care and dedication of staff at Ormskirk Hospital's neonatal unit are urging local residents to support their efforts to raise money to help fund a vital piece of equipment. When little Theo Graham was born prematurely at 30 weeks and weighing little more than a bag of sugar at just 2lb 8oz, parents Emma and Lee feared the worst. However, 10 weeks of lifesaving treatment at the unit saw the little battler making a miraculous recovery and, although suffering some respiratory problems, Theo is an otherwise healthy two-year-old. The overjoyed Formby couple vowed to hold a fundraiser each year on their son's birthday in aid of staff at the Ormskirk Neonatal Unit as a way to show their gratitude to those who helped save little Theo's life. And, following the popularity of a charity ball, which sold out just weeks after details were released, the pair have organised a whole host of other activities, with many more planned, to help the hospital reach their £40,000 target to help purchase a new transport incubator. Emma, who works as an occupational therapist, said: “We had originally planned just one event for this year but that has now changed and we have planned several. ”The neonatal unit are still hoping to raise enough funds for a transport incubator costing £40,000 so I decided I would do as many events as possible to help them raise the money. “I think overall we have raised just under £3,000 for the hospital since I started fundraising and I am hoping to make it to £5,000 by the end of October. ”During April we raised more than £1,000 with a collection at Iceland, Formby, a raffle at the local Slimming World group and an online auction to win a BBQ kindly donated by Homebase in Formby. “The neonatal unit was also one of the winners of the Community Matters Boxes at Waitrose Formby, while the local Marks and Spencer's have also agreed to have the unit as their charity of the year for 2015, and they will be carrying out fundraising events within the store.” The next events planned include a bag packing event in Marks and Spencer on Halsall Lane, Formby in July and bucket collections at Dobbies garden centre in August. Emma said she is hoping the charity ball will help her towards her £5,000 target, with a raffle and auction already included in the evening's activities.

Any raffle or auction prizes would be gratefully received. To help towards Emma and Lee's fundraising, or to donate and prizes for the raffle please get in touch on 07979062082.