In November 2008, our son William was born. However, at 10 days old he was taken very ill. From early in the morning he wouldn’t feed, he had very bad diarrhoea and by the afternoon he became worse and started to make a funny grunting noise. Although we didn’t know it, these were all classic signs of an infection called Group B Strep. We took him straight to A&E at Southampton General Hospital. Although it was a busy Sunday afternoon, he was rushed straight in and examined by doctors.
Suddenly it became apparent how ill William was, and that he may even die. I just couldn’t believe it. I kept thinking “Cry, William, cry” because if he was crying he was still alive.
It is all a complete blur. William was on a machine with wires everywhere, the only place I could touch him was to stroke his cheek. I was afraid that anything I did would hurt him.
He was moved to PICU and we were told that we couldn’t stay with him overnight, he would be watched by the nurses 24x7 but we needed to leave him and get rest. Fortunately the unit were able to provide us with accommodation.
2 days later, following a series of tests, they got the results back and we discovered that William had Group B Strep. This is an infection which is passed from the mother during labour. So I had put my baby into this place. There is a simple test that can be carried out during pregnancy. However, this is not routinely carried out in the UK. £30 for a test would have meant being given treatment to avoid this situation and the agony we were going through.
William was in PICU for 5 days, the care he received was amazing. I vowed that I would do whatever I could to help the unit.
On returning home, we decided that instead of Christmas gifts to our friends and family, we would make a donation to the unit. The company I worked for also made a donation and then once William was older I started to think about fundraising.
The first event in August 2009 was a children’s bike ride around Southampton Common. My daughter Emilia and 11 of her friends took part. We managed to raise about £3000.
The second event was a Quiz/Curry Night in March. We realised early on that without lots of hard work this wasn’t going to raise a huge amount of money. So we managed to get prizes donated from local business to do a grand prize draw. In addition we got a couple of items of football memorabilia and did a silent auction. In total we raised a staggering £3200.
I’m currently in the process of helping to organising a James Bond themed ball. This is to include a casino, games and a live band. The ball is to be held at Chilworth Manor in October. More details to follow soon.
I’d like to thank Tim (my husband), family, friends and colleagues for helping and supporting me and such a worthwhile charity.
Teri

This years golf classic VI was very successful
25 teams attended along with the sunshine to make it a memorable day.
The day started with a bacon roll & coffee before a shogun start and off to the 18 holes of golf which was complimented with a pimms and fruit halfway around. During the day there were several competition to participate in.
The day was ended with a buffet prior to the presentations.
The day also included a fantastic raffle and dutch auction
1st The X-Tech Factor 84 points
2nd Test Valley 83 points
3rd The Strokes 81 points
4th Fernden 79 points

Nearest the pin winner was Don Goss with a hole in one
Pot of Gold was won by Rob G of Open Stream
Winner of the putting competition was Jeff West
Longest drive was Rupert Ronca with 282 yards
Youngest putter – winner by far – Toby Nash

next years Golf Classic VII
18th May at South Winchester Golf Club
SEE YOU THERE !!!

The Concrete Society Solent Club annual networking dinner was held at Botley Park Hotel on 19th February 2010. The aim of the dinner is to provide a networking opportunity for companies within the construction industry and to raise money for a designated charity, which has for the last two years been Friends of PICU. Despite the recession, we managed to attract 190 attendees from which we raised £1,800 from our raffle draw.
in the photo left to right Bob Berry, Trevor Summers, Damian Westlake and Peter.

Daniel Broom – Great South Run

Dan nets £3000 for nephew’s cause

A MAN determined to show his gratitude for the skill and care given to his nephew who is currently in Southampton General Hospital has raised £3000 for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after completing The Great South Run on Sunday.
Daniel Broom from Bridport was so impressed by the skill and care given to his nephew Luke May that he was only too happy to volunteer for the 10 mile race around Portsmouth when they asked for volunteers.
Luke was only six weeks old when he was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia and rushed to Southampton in a critically ill condition in June where he received a life saving operation. He is still in hospital some 20 weeks later having had ten major operations including the removal of his right lung, and is set to be there for a few months more.
Despite some knee problems that restricted his training to ensure he could run on the day, Dan completed the course in 1:28:38, inside the target time he had set himself of 1 ½ hours.
The course took over 21,000 runners around the naval base and finished with a two mile run into a very strong wind along Southsea seafront.
Dan who was in the first 4000 to finish the race, which included top international athletes, was more than pleased with his run, but more so with the money he had raised for the charity.
“I had set myself a target of 1 ½ hours for the run and was very pleased to have completed the course inside the time particularly as we had to run into the westerly gale force winds for the first two miles, which wasn’t so bad when you are fresh, but then also the final two miles along Southsea seafront.
“However I am particularly delighted to have managed to raise so much money for The Friends of PICU to show our families gratitude for the wonderful care that has been shown to Luke. He has had so much to endure, but is a real fighter, and I am so proud of him.
“I would like to thank everybody that has donated to the cause. I am amazed by the number of people who have taken an interest, many who have donated online who I do not know. I would like them to know how much it helped me in completing the race despite my “dodgy knees”.
If anyone would still like to donate to the charity they can do so by going to http://www.justgiving.com/Daniel-Broom

Friends of PICU have received a HUGE cheque for £2,706.87 from Luke Parry and Paul Rockett of Milestone Event Management Limited and Graham Russell and Steve Saunders of Alno UK who played 18 holes of golf in one day. Nothing remarkable in that, I hear you cry, but you would be wrong!

On the 22nd June 2009 – the longest day of the year - the foursome teed off at 4.30am at a golf course in Kent and played two holes at nine different courses across southern England. Their challenge took them through 8 counties, travelling in excess of 400 miles and it took them 17 hours and 45 minutes to complete, with the last hole being played just as the sun finally set over the Cape Cornwall golf course in Cornwall.

The team raised over £5,400 by obtaining sponsorship and by holding a Prize Draw on the day, with the money being split between the two children’s charities close to the team’s hearts – Friends of PICU and CHASE childrens hospice.

Our thanks go to Luke, Paul, Graham and Steve for their very generous donation and for organising and participating in such a difficult challenge.

On Monday 22nd June 2009, Luke Parry and Paul Rockett of Milestone and Graham Russell and Steve Saunders of Alno, will attempt to play 18 holes of golf in one day stretching from Kent to the most western tip of Cornwall, in aid of two charities close to their hearts – Friends of PICU and CHASE Hospice Care for Children.

Their route will take them through 8 counties, travelling in excess of 400 miles and will last over 17 hours!

They will attempt to play two holes at each of the following venues who have generously agreed to help them in their challenge:

• The London Club, Kent
• RAC Woodcote Park, Surrey
• Mannings Heath, Sussex
• Cams Hall, Hampshire
• Ferndown, Dorset
• Taunton & Pickeridge, Somerset
• Woodbury Park, Devon
• Trevose, Cornwall
• Cape Cornwall, Cornwall

The Longest 18 holers are aiming to raise £5,000 for each of the two charities, and therefore your help and support would be greatly appreciated.

If you would like to sponsor them, please visit their website (http://www.milestone-event.com/longest_18_holes.asp) for details.

In addition to the challenge, they are also holding a Prize Draw with numerous fantastic raffle prizes up for grabs. These include:

• One pair of return economy flight tickets to JFK, New York - donated by Virgin Atlantic
• Custom fit driver fitted at the Callaway Golf Performance Centre in Chessington – dontated by Callaway Golf
• Half a day RIB charter on the Solent (for 7 people) – donated by JM Yachting
• And many, many more!

Raffle tickets cost £2.00 each and details on how to obtain them can be found on their website above. The prize draw will be made on Monday 29th June 2009 and winners will be notified by email.

Skydiving has long been accepted as a popular and effective method of raising funds for charity, but our charity have never had anyone to make that leap of faith... until now!

Friends of PICU are proud to announce that Charlie and Pete Staples have decided to become our first charity skydivers by performing a sponsored 14,000 feet tandem freefall parachute jump on Friday 7th August, at Netheravon, Salisbury.

Unfortunately, the couple's reason for jumping is a sad one as they lost their precious three-week old son, Seth, last December whilst in the care of the PICU.
Charlie explains: "Seth was only with us for 24 days and that is a journey of which we will never forget. We both want to give something back to the department that did so much to try and save Seths life. They are a dedicated team of Surgeons, Consultants and nurses and their devotion and kindness helped us through what was a truly traumatic time."

If you would like to support our inaugural skydivers, then please visit their JustGiving webpage:

http://www.justgiving.com/charlieandpetestaples

Friends of PICU are now looking for other daredevils like the Staples' to step forward and perform parachute jumps on its behalf, and in return we are willing to pay for the priviledge!

Willing skydivers will need to raise a minimum of £445 in sponsorship money in order to jump for free (you will need to pay a £45 deposit), and in return Friends of PICU will receive an average donation of £156. In addition to this, every extra pound that you raise over and above the minimum sponsorship comes straight to the charity.

For more information on performing a charity skydive, please call Eddie Manchip on 023 9237 9044 or send an e-mail to secretary@friendsofpicu.org.uk.

Following the Friends of PICU AGM this week, we have a new treasurer, Rebecca Manchip.

Our thanks go to Rosie who has done a sterling job over the last three years and is now Community Fundraising Officer/School Liason Officer.

Any donations or correspondence should now be forwarded to:

Friends of PICU
16 Blake Road
Farlington
Portsmouth
PO6 1ET

Grateful parents Paul Casey and Rachel Slade along with their son Rory, from Southampton, presented the Southampton General Hospital’s P.I.C.U unit with a life-saving piece of equipment on Thursday 4th December.

The Apnoea Alarm which is used to assess the breathing patterns of small babies on the unit once they have been taken off a ventilator machine, is being presented by the couple to say thank-you to the staff who cared for their son Rory.

Dad, Paul, has described the care his son received as being, “Exemplary and everything we could have hoped for.” He describes the gift as, “A way of saying thank-you to the excellent staff who did everything they could to care for Rory.”

The alarm, which cost £650, will enable the staff in the special unit, to continue caring for hundreds of the south’s children. Critical care nurse, Jo Palmer says, “A baby often forgets how to breath once they have been put on ventilator and so the Apnoea Alarm is a key piece of equipment. Our sincere thanks go to Paul and Rachel for making this very kind donation.”

Thank you to everyone who came to visit our stall and, take a tour of the retrieval ambulance. Despite the wet day a large crowd visited this family open day at the Hampshire Fire & Rescue Headquaters in Eastleigh. Amongst the attractions were a selection of vintage fire engines on display and demonstrations of fire fighters in action extinguishing fires and performing mock rescues from old cars.
Back at the Friends Of P.I.C.U stall the doughnuts proved a big hit with young and old visitors. The sale of which amongst other items helped us to raise £180.00.