Family thanks RD&E Neonatal Unit with £4,000 donation

The Thomas family, from Tiverton, have raised over £4,000 for the Neonatal Unit (NNU) at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital as a thank you for their care their son received there.

Three year old Maximus spent 12 ½ weeks on NNU in September 2013 after being born prematurely at 27 weeks. 

During this time, Maximus spent time on every area of NNU, from intensive care to low dependency, and was cared for by Dr Bartle and his experienced team. He was allowed home the day before his due date and has been monitored by the team for just over two years after discharge. 

As a way of saying thank you to team that cared for him, Maximus’ parents Joanna and Michael embarked on a range of fundraising activities to help support the NNU.

It started with a sponsored skydive by a family friend Carly Reid who was keen to help Exeter's Neonatal unit after they helped Maximus and this kick started the events. Following Carly's success, the fundraising team, led by Joanna and Michael and friends, then organised an ABBA tribute night, a darts tournament and Louise Davies also did a skydive to top up their charity pot. Finally, Michael and his team ‘Maximus we stand’ took on the gruelling Rock Solid challenge in aid of the cause last year.     

Thanks to their efforts, the team have raised £4,122.84 in total for Exeter’s NNU. Joanna, Michael and Maximus recently returned to the unit to hand over their cheque and find out more about how their donation will be used to benefit families on the unit.

Joanna said: “We will always have a relationship with the unit; it will always be part of us as without the NNU Maximus wouldn’t be here. We can never thank them enough for what they have done for us. This fundraising is the least we can do. We wanted to give something back to the unit and provide them with the equipment they need to help them care for other babies, including an apnoea monitor we hope.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us raise this total, to everyone who has attended an event or contributed money, and to P & R Tidborough Building Contractors for sponsoring our Rock Solid team shirts.”

Sue Prosser, Senior Nurse for NNU, added: “This really is a fantastic donation, so thank you to everyone for all their hard work and generosity. We hope to use this money to help support the work of the unit and make improvements to the NNU environment that will benefit other families like Maximus’ during their stay with us.”

Joanna, Michael and their fundraising team are already planning their next charity event, an 80’s Night on 21st April at Heathcoat Hall Tiverton, which will support The Larches residential home in Tiverton and raise awareness of Dementia. Tickets are available from The Busy Bee Tiverton.

Pictured from left: Joanna, Michael and Maximus Thomas, with Chloe Stephens, NNU Nurse, and Sue Prosser, Senior Nurse for NNU.