After falling pregnant with her first child in 2019, Priya Passan was expecting to have a completely normal birth after experiencing no complications for most of her pregnancy.

That was until, at 29 weeks pregnant, when Priya was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary after her waters broke. Doctors examined Priya and were concerned when they struggled to find her baby girl’s heartbeat, so she was taken for an emergency c-section.

Thanks to the quick thinking and actions of staff, Priya’s little girl Amaya arrived safely on the 4^th December 2019, but needed to be transferred to the Neonatal Unit at St James’s Hospital for specialist care.

Amaya spent the next 10 weeks on the unit before she was strong enough to return home, and Priya is thankful every day for the staff who nursed her back to health:

“The whole experience was a blur to me, it all happened so fast. Amaya was just 2lbs and when I first saw her, she was blue and purple, I was terrified she might not make it. However, the neonatal staff and parent volunteers were so reassuring, they helped guide our family every step of the way. I felt a sense of guilt that what happened was my fault, but their support helped me realise that wasn’t the case, they were all so understanding.”

To thank the NHS staff who cared for Amaya in her first few months of life, Priya has signed her up to join in our Halloween Toddle on the 30^th October – a 1km walk for under 4s and their families, raising funds for Leeds Children’s Hospital.

Many of the other tots who are taking part in the event at Temple Newsam also started their lives on the Neonatal Unit, so Priya hopes this will also be an opportunity to reconnect with parents she befriended in hospital:

“I think this event is a wonderful way for families to come together and celebrate how far their little ones have come since being in hospital, all while raising some money to thank the NHS staff who helped them through a traumatic time. Amaya loves dressing up and spending time outdoors, so this is the perfect activity for her to get involved in – and I hope when she’s older she will look back and be proud of what she did to help Leeds Children’s Hospital!”

You can support Amaya by donating to her fundraising page https://leedshospitalscharity.enthuse.com/pf/amaya-passan-c9b5d

If like Priya, you want to give something back to Leeds Children’s Hospital, then you can sign your little one up to join in our Toddle for free. 

Join our Toddle