Great Irish Bake to help fund incubators for sick babies
Her only child, five-month-old Grace, spent the first two months of her life in an incubator.
Today, the hospital is holding The Great Irish Bake and funds raised will help purchase three state-of-the-art incubators costing €50,000 each.
“They are amazing pieces of life-saving equipment. The incubator is an all-in-one neonatal care station with all the key life supports for new born, critically ill babies,” says Denise Fitzgerald, CEO of fundraising at the hospital.
It’s less than two weeks until our Great Irish Bake on April 4th! Hurry quick to register at http://t.co/OfYdK9iB5x pic.twitter.com/cpT6IHq8JG
— Children's Health Foundation (@CHFIreland) March 26, 2014
Maynooth-based Amy and husband Stephen discovered at the 20-week scan that their unborn baby had a small chin, indicating a condition known as Pierre Robin Sequence.
“We didn’t know what it meant until she was born. Her chin didn’t grow fully in the womb so she has a small jaw, which leads to breathing and feeding issues.”
Thankfully, the prognosis is good. “The solution is growth. It will catch up as she grows. Doctors think she’ll be fine by the time she’s one or two years.”
Already Grace is making progress. “She started life on a ventilator in Temple Street. Now she’s breathing on her own during the day and needs just a little oxygen to help her at night. When she was born, she was tube-fed. Now she has been weaned onto bottles.”
Being in hospital since she was born has been “pretty horrific”, says Amy. Grace spent 88 days in ICU. “We were in ICU for Christmas Day. It’s been quite difficult but the staff have made it easier for us.”
The young mum got the best Mother’s Day present ever last Sunday, when Grace was deemed well enough to go home to Maynooth with her parents for a few hours.
“It was her first time outdoors, her first time in a car. She wasn’t smiling but she didn’t cry. She was taking everything in. We got on great. It was so hard bringing her back to the hospital that evening.
“This weekend we’re going to do an overnight at home with her and all going well she’ll be coming home for good in a week or two.”
One week today until the Great Irish Bake. Visit templestreet.ie to register and Bake It Better for our hospital! pic.twitter.com/rAZ0kmwVvv
— Children's Health Foundation (@CHFIreland) March 28, 2014
nFood writer and TV personality Donal Skehan is ambassador for The Great Irish Bake, which is sponsored by EBS. Donal is asking all baking enthusiasts nationwide to get baking and raise lots of funds by holding a cake sale at home, in school or in work.
¦ The Great Irish Bake began in 2008.
¦ It has raised over €337,000 for Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
¦ Temple Street cares for over 145,000 children per year.
¦ Register online at www.templestreet.ie or call 01-878 4344 for more info.
