A family from Wetherby have raised over £28,800 to purchase a state-of-the-art incubator for the Neonatal Unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital.

32-year-old Natalia Hallums decided to fundraise alongside her cousin, 47-year-old Emma Curtin, after her twins Luca and Leo had life-saving care on the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Natalia’s identical twin boys were born 11 weeks early on 13^th January 2022, after contracting TAPS (Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence) and had to fight through prematurity, infections, anemia and multiple surgeries.

Natalia told us: “The care and support the boys, my partner Ashley and I received was incredible. 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.”

After spending two months in hospital with Luca and over six months with Leo, the twins returned home with parents Natalia and Ashley.

To thank the staff who saved their little boys lives, Natalia’s cousin Emma 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 pair, joined by friends and family along the way, completed a plethora of 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 support the fundraising efforts.

Emma told us about why she was inspired to fundraise and the difference she hopes this will make:

 “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”

Leo and Luca are now two years old living a happy and healthy childhood. Leo still needs to visit the hospital every six months to check his diet, growth and how he is coping with his short bowel.

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 cared for can be kept warm and in the correct humidity, helping to improve their outcomes.

We spoke to Hannah Shore, Consultant Neonatologist, about the impact this new incubator will have:

“We’re so grateful to Emma and Natalia for their fundraising efforts, which has enabled us to purchased this state of the art incubator. This enables us to create a humid environment for our most vulnerable babies which protects their fragile skin.

“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 in 2023, 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 invited to a special event at Leeds Children’s Hospital joined by members of the neonatal team and charity staff.

Paul Watkins, Director of Fundraising at Leeds Hospitals Charity told us:

“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.”