Leeds Children's Hospital: Wetherby family raises £28k for unit that saved lives of premature baby twins
A family from Wetherby have raised more than £28,000 for the hospital that saved the lives of their baby twins.
Luca and Leo Hallums were born 11 weeks early and had to spend months on the neonatal intensive care unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital in 2022.
Their mum Natalia, 32, described it as the most traumatic time of her life, as the babies fought through infections, anemia and multiple surgeries. Luca was kept on the unit for two months, while his brother Leo was there for more than six.
But as a result of the heroic efforts of doctors and nurses, the boys made a miraculous full recovery and were able to return home.
To thank the staff, Natalia’s cousin Emma Curtin, 47, led fundraising efforts for Leeds Hospitals Charity with the hope of purchasing a new incubator to benefit thousands of babies who will be cared for on the unit.
“The care and support the boys, my partner Ashley and I received was incredible,” said Natalia.
“We cannot thank the nurses, doctors and every staff member who helped us along our journey. It was the most traumatic time of our lives, especially when Leo was diagnosed with NEC and lost all but 35cm of his short bowel.
“We are forever grateful to everyone who saved Leo’s life, and of course both of their lives when they were born prematurely. We now love visiting the ward to see all the staff, and it’s a joy to show them growing up after their difficult start in life.”
Natalia and Emma were joined by friends and family for a series of impressive fundraising challenges, including scaling the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a Christmas abseil, bake sales and a street party. Natalia’s employer Hiscox also match funded the total raised, contributing £10,000 to the total.
Emma said: “We wanted to fundraise to give back for the amazing care that was given to the boys when they were born so prematurely. The staff and equipment kept them alive and thank you just didn’t seem enough.
“To be able to raise enough money to buy these incubators means more families see their babies grow up. We raised money, in essence, to stop the heartbreak of losing premature or sick babies in the name of our amazing twin boys Leo and Luca Hallums.”
The boys are now two-years-old and living a happy and healthy childhood, although Leo still needs to visit the hospital every six months for checks.
The neonatal team at Leeds Children’s Hospital cares for around 1,700 premature and poorly babies each year. The new incubators mean that some of the smallest and most vulnerable babies can be kept warm and in the correct humidity, helping to improve their outcomes.
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Hannah Shore, Consultant Neonatologist, said: “We’re so grateful to Emma and Natalia for their fundraising efforts, which has enabled us to purchased this state of the art incubator.
“The warmth from the incubator enables our babies to spend all their energy on growing rather than keeping warm. This particular system can be used across all patient groups that we see due to its multiple functions allowing it to convert from an incubator into a more standard bed for more mature babies. The staff are delighted with it as it is so reliable and easy to use.”
Emma and Natalia were invited to share their fundraising story at the inaugural Leeds Hospitals Charity Ball last year, inspiring many of the attendees with the bravery they showed at one of the most difficult times of their life.
To celebrate their exceptional fundraising efforts earlier this year, the family were also invited to a special event at Leeds Children’s Hospital with members of the neonatal team and charity staff.
Paul Watkins, Director of Fundraising at Leeds Hospitals Charity, said: “The family’s fundraising efforts completely blew us away. Emma and Natalia showed such determination to reach their target, taking on challenge after challenge to help other families like theirs.
“It’s wonderful to see this new incubator now in place and benefitting hundreds of poorly babies at Leeds Children’s Hospital. On behalf of everyone at Leeds Hospitals Charity, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the family for their dedication and continued support.”