Our aim is to raise £10,000 to buy a twin incubator, desperately needed by Homerton Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care unit.

We are half way there!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far. Now mum and dad (aka Anna and Al Jackson) and friends are doing an event on the 20th March. Their aim is to do 5000 press ups in just one day!!! Please donate to help us raise our target, our story is below to show you all how important this is, not only to us, but to so many other families affected.

Our son, Heath, was born at 25 weeks – 15 weeks premature. He weighed 1lb 12 oz.  He and I (mum) were rushed to Homerton NICU where he was placed in an incubator on life support.  I sat next to him all day every day talking to him, holding his hand, willing him to keep going.  The nurses treated him and helped me, explaining what I wanted to know – and making sure I ate and drank!  Heath stayed in that incubator for 9 weeks until he was strong enough to be moved to a level 2 hospital, and eventually he went home a few days before his due date.

Thanks to the care, commitment and support of the nurses and the team, Heath survived and he is now a happy, almost 3 year old.

Heath is one of the lucky ones.  Many are not so fortunate and twins can be even more vulnerable.

 In 1995 a pair of twins were born prematurely and after a couple of weeks one started to deteriorate rapidly.  Nothing helped and she faded faster and faster.  One nurse remembered hearing of a rarely tried technique called “Double Bedding” and so, in a bid to save the twin, she ignored hospital protocol of keeping the twins separate to avoid infection, and put her in with her twin sister.  From the first moment they touched, the baby showed improvement, astounding doctors with the instant improvement and speed of progress.  The stronger of the two had snuggled up to the weaker and put her arm over her sister.  That touch undoubtedly saved her life and it has since become known as the “Rescuing Hug”.

It has since been proven again and again that keeping premature twins together saves an incredible amount of lives, a twin is up to 80% more likely to survive when put with its sibling than when kept apart, far outweighing the comparatively very small risk of infection between the two.

Hospitals around the world now try to put twins together whenever they can, but there is a catch and this is where our fundraising comes in.

Each twin incubator costs £10,000!  Needless to say, there are far too few twin incubators in hospitals across the UK to help every set of twins born prematurely.  However, we aim to raise money and buy one (to start with) for Homerton Hospital as our thanks to them for helping save our sons life and in the hope that it will help save many more lives in the years to come.

Please help us raise money for this very worthy cause.  You can donate, undertake a challenge – anything - to help us, and help future twin babies have a better hope of life.  Heaths Nana, Sandra Chidzey and her friend, Jan Lancucki even make baby quilts and hangings to help raise the money!  If this interests you more than running through a field of mud to fundraise then please get in touch with us on fabricfusion@btinternet.com

We cannot imagine life without Heath and we hope that by buying a twin incubator, many other families won’t have to imagine or live life without their little ones.  Help keep these very special twins together.  It’s as simple as a rescuing hug.

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