Worksop: Mother backs Children’s Hosptial fundraising campaign

Laura Malik has vowed to ‘help make it better’ as part of the Children’s Hospital’s fundraising campaign on Friday 28th June.

Laura’s son Ollie Theo Darke has continued to have treatment at the hospital since he was born two-and-a-half years ago.

Ollie has a rare condition called hirschsprungs disease which arises when certain nerve cells in the gut fail to develop and mature correctly.

When Ollie was only two days old the condition threatened his life and he was rushed to The Children’s Hospital in Sheffield.

Laura said Ollie was rushed into hospital 36 hours after he was born and underwent an emergency operation after doctors discovered his bowel had perforated. A biopsy later revealed he had hirschsprungs disease and Ollie remained in hospital for two weeks.

Laura said the staff were ‘fantastic’ and named Ollie after The Children’s Hospital Charity’s mascot Theo Bear, so he would always have a special connection to the hospital.

Laura and her partner Gavin Darke have been busy fundraising for The Children’s Hospital Charity to say thank you for all the care Ollie received.

Gavin recently ran the Sheffield half marathon with his colleagues, in support of the Make it Better campaign raising more than £1,800.

Laura said: “We wanted to fundraise to give something back to the hospital that gave me the best gift I could ask for, my baby’s life.”

“It’s so nice to be able to help and give something back and I hope in the next few months and years we will raise lots more to help other children.”

“It’s a lovely hospital as it is and having the enhancements on the wards will only make it better such as the sensory play area which will create a nice haven for children as they grow up.

“It will be nice for them to have a child friendly environment to make it more fun and bright for them.”

“It’s a wonderful hospital and we can only really make the hospital better by supporting fantastic fundraising initiatives such as the Make it Better campaign, so please download a fundraising pack from the Make it Better website and get involved.”

The Make It Better Campaign has been developed to encourage individuals, businesses, schools and local communities to support the hospital with their own fundraising initiatives throughout June and July, raising funds to provide much needed modernisation of the hospital including a new main entrance and reception, a ground floor outpatients department, en-suite patient bedrooms on three new wards to allow families to stay together and sensory gardens for patients to relax or play.

To download a pack visit www.tchc.org.uk/makeitbetter. For updates and information visit the The Children’s Hospital Charity Facebook page or on Twitter @tchcharity. To text donate, text MIBD28 (And any amount) to 70070.

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