Freddie's fund helping others

Gemma Baker, one of the organisers behind Freddie’s Fundraiser, has expressed her joy after raising enough money for a cooling jacket at Princess Anne Hospital.
 

Miss Baker was inspired to fundraise after the same piece of equipment saved her son’s life.

Freddie was wrapped in the jacket by the hospital’s neonatal unit after being distressed at birth. He had also suffered a febrile fit.

The jacket helped to reduce his body temperature and lessen the chance of brain damage.

Freddie, now two-years-old, has not had another fit since.

Miss Baker said: “He’s doing absolutely fine. He’s having his development checks, which he’s exceeding the requirements for.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him whatsoever.”

Freddie recently joined his parents at Princess Anne Hospital to see the machine bought with money raised through donations.

Miss Baker said: “I’m very pleased. It was nice to go up to the actual unit and see the machine we bought, with a named plaque on it.

“They were really pleased to see how well Freddy was doing.”

“They told me £15,000 was needed originally. Then, when I contacted them, when I had £13,000, they said we will see what we can do.

“The £13,000 sum bought them the machine. The little else that was leftover went towards buying a brain activity monitor.”

Cooling jackets are used to prevent cell damage when a baby is suffering a lack of oxygen. The jackets help to stop a series of complicated chemical reactions in the brain.

The £13,000 sum was raised through various means. More than £6,000 was raised at a fun day held at the Marquis of Granby pub last year. Money also came in through a sponsored spin event and donations from customers at the Marquis of Granby.

Miss Baker said: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone for their support and their hard work into all the fundraising events that we did.

“I never thought we’d be able to buy the whole thing outright.

“We ended up with more than enough."