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, and I would like to tell them 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

Lukes Uncle Dan Broom is doing the Great South Run in Portsmouth tomorrow.

He has raised over two thousand pounds for PICU and we are very proud of him!

Good Luck Dan - see you at the end.

You can sponsor Dan here: http://www.justgiving.com/Daniel-Broom/

Daniel Broom (Lukes Uncle) will be running the Great South Run in Portsmouth on 25th October hoping to raise money for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Southampton General Hospital. The Charity is special to him as it saved the life of his nephew, Luke, who was admitted to the unit in June with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The condition, which can be fatal, affects 1 in 5,000 babies and is normally diagnosed at or before birth. Luke was only 6 weeks old when he became critically ill and it took all the expertise of the staff on PICU to save his life during emergency surgery. Since then, Luke has had 8 operations, including having his right lung removed, and although his condition has started to improve, he still remains critical, on a ventilator on the PICU ward. With at least one other operation still to come, Daniel and his family remain extremely grateful to the commitment of the PICU staff who are continuing to work hard to support Luke and aid his recovery.

PICU is the regional centre for the South of England, and one of only 9 tertiary care centres in the UK. This means that any child needing intensive care in the South of England would be likely to receive treatment there. As there are only 11 purpose built bed spaces, the unit can become full quite quickly. More than 700 children are admitted each year, many from A and E departments across the region or following major surgery. Children from newborn to 17 years are cared for in the specialist unit. This may be due to massive trauma following a road traffic accident, or other serious illnesses, or as a result of serious heart disease in tiny babies. The unit encourages family centred care by incorporating the family in the care of their child, and providing family accommodation to help the families cope with the trauma of their child being admitted to the unit.

Running such a service requires high standards of care, and this requires frequent investment. The charity, Friends of PICU, aims to support this work by helping to purchase new life saving equipment, as well as toys, baby equipment and in the near future a new ambulance. The average cost of a night on the ward before any medical intervention is £1500, whilst the incubator that Luke first stayed in cost £75 000 so costs are very high! If you would like to support this Charity then please log onto Daniel’s web page: http://www.justgiving.com/Daniel-Broom/

The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Southampton General Hospital is the regional centre for the South of England. It is a purpose built unit which presently is open to 10 beds with an 11th bed due to open shortly however it has the ability to expand to 14 beds in the future.

To run such a service and maintain high standards of care, which is paramount in the care of seriously ill Children, requires frequent up dating.

Therefore we are looking for help to maintain and purchase new life saving equipment .
 
Registered Charity No.1116880

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