A couple who have dedicated countless hours to raising funds for the neonatal unit at James Cook University Hospital after losing their baby girl have their sights set on a new piece of equipment to help babies.
Graham and Leanne Nellis, of Ingleby Barwick, set up Maisie’s Hope in memory of their first daughter who lived just four days after being born with the umbilical cord around her neck.
Soon after her birth, in October 2011, Maisie was placed on a special cooling mat, which had to be borrowed from another hospital, to minimise brain damage, but sadly she did not make it.
Since then, her mum and dad, who are now parents to 19-month-old Mollie, have funded an additional cooling mat and a cerebral function monitor with thousands raised.
And they are already well on their way to meeting their next goal after last year’s Maisie’s Hope Christmas Ball, held at Gisborough Hall on November 29, raised almost £4,000.
Maisie's Hope's Leanne Nellis, left, with guests at the 2014 Maisie's Hope Christmas Ball who all helped with the organisation of the event, paediatrician Andrew Villis, James Pocklington and neonatal nurse Caroline Buckley
Leanne said: “The ball was really good. The entertainment was fantastic and we had an auction that included tickets to the Boro Boxing Day game.
“You always worry beforehand but it was a fantastic night. The total raised from the ball including the gift aid we get was £3931.25, so more than last year.
“The next thing we want to get for the hospital are machines that, when babies are born jaundiced, means there’s no need for needles.
“Instead of them having to have nasty needle pricks, the machine is placed on the baby’s skin to measure the jaundice.
“It’s called a transcutaneous bilirubinometer, and they are used on both the babies on the postnatal ward, those on the NICU, the neo intensive care unit, and others in the community.”
Jaundice occurs in around 60% of full-term infants and 80% of preterm babies, and is caused by excess bilirubin in the blood. It is usually harmless and resolves itself, but in a small number of cases can be the sign of an underlying health condition and must be monitored.
The monitors cost in the region of five to seven thousand pounds per unit, said Leanne, and a number of them would be of benefit in the Teesside area.
Leanne said Maisie’s Hope has a number of events planned already for this year.
She said: “Before we started this, I would never have imagined how much money these pieces of equipment cost.
“This year at the moment we have the 10k planned, we’re collecting the Gazette Wish tokens again, and a night is being organised by two young daughters of a friend of ours.
“They’ve called it ‘Maisie’s night of Hope’ and it will be a charity evening with hopefully a band and a raffles etc.
“We’ll also be holding the annual Christmas Ball again.”
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