[Archived] Childrens Heart Unit - Request to fellow rovers fans

[snatchymcsnatch]

Around 300 small babies and children are operated on each year by the children’s heart surgeons at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, they come from all over the Northern region. Many of them are tiny infants who, up until a few years ago, would not have survived. Out of 33,000 babies born in the Northern region each year, around 300 will require surgery and many more will require medical or outpatient treatment in the Children’s Heart Unit (Ward 23).

Not all children are born with heart disease. Viruses can severely weaken the heart and cause it to fail. The Freeman Hospital is one of only 2 hospitals in the UK (the other being of course Great Ormond Street) that performs children’s heart transplants and that use mechanical hearts to keep these children alive until their heart either recovers or can be transplanted. Since 1987 over 250 children have received a transplant.

Myself and a few work colleagues have so far raised over £2,000 for the Childrens Heart Unit (CHUF) but we don't want to stop there. If you haven't sponsored anyone this year for the Great North Run and you can spare something, no matter how small, please help out a fellow (exiled) Rovers fan and sponsor me through the following "just giving" link:

http://www.justgiving.com/tsg

Thanks very much for reading this, it's a great cause - the Freeman Hospital doesn't get the same levels of publicity as Great Ormond Street and recieves very little in terms of charitable support, but we hope for that to change - hope you can help out.

Stuart

PS Any chance a mod can pin for a few days?