Naomi Fox
Acute Neo Natal Transfer Service (ANTs)
Fundraising for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust
Story
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Like many expectant parents, we were extremely excited about starting our family for the first time, but on February 3rd 2018 our son, Jaxon was born 11 weeks early by emergency c-section, weighing just 2 pounds, 2 ounces. It became very apparent that Jaxon was a very sick little boy and his future was in somebody else's hands. We hadn’t even named him and I (his mother) hadn’t even seen or held him at this point. The doctor’s struggled to stabilise Jaxon and were liaising with the Acute Neonatal Transfer Service (ANTS) team, whom came and transferred Jaxon quickly and safely to the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit at Addenbrookes Hospital, where he received the care that he needed to survive. We never could have imagined what it would be like to have a newborn baby in hospital for 6 months, fighting chronic lung disease and heart surgery, but we will be eternally grateful to the ANTS team whom without, our son wouldn’t be here with us today!
Premature birth is the leading cause of death in children under five and as a result some babies suffer lifelong consequences to their health.
The ANTS is the regional specialist transport service for the whole of the East of England and is based at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. The team is called into action whenever there is an acutely sick new-born who needs transporting to the Rosie’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or another specialist unit. They currently have three neonatal transport incubators and they need a forth. Unlike adult ambulances, which have space for a trolley bed, these specially designed vehicles need to be equipped with a neonatal transport incubator and kitted out with specialist equipment to ensure that babies being rushed to hospital can be cared for appropriately and safely.
Statistics In 2018*:
· 1485 babies were referred to the service for transfer
· The service transferred 337 babies with a birth weight of less than a kilo (average is 3.4kg)
· 3 of the babies transferred weighed less than 500 grams at birth
· In total, the team drove 6.5 times round the earth in mileage
· On average, this was 13,500 miles every month, the same as driving to New York every week
· Our region is the 2nd biggest area covered by neonatal transport
· There are 17 units in the region
· The service travelled to 47 hospitals in total
* Addebrooke's Charitable Trust
We need your help!
In order to raise as much money as possible we have organised a Charity ball in aid of the ANTS team to be held on Saturday, November 16th at Channels Estate in Chelmsford, Essex. An evening of good food, bubbles and dancing will ensure that everyone has a night to remember!
In honor of our son Jaxon and in our act of thanks and to further support the ANTS team as they save the lives of newborns across the East of England and beyond, we will be hosting a charity ball to raise funds for a specialised ambulance equipped with neonatal transport incubators. We cordially invite you to attend our dinner event on Saturday, November 16th at Channels Estate in Chelmsford, Essex. An evening of good food, bubbles and dancing will ensure that everyone has a night to remember! We appreciate that not everyone will be able to attend in person, but are asking for you to play an important role in our event, either by attending, donating or sponsoring on the night. We welcome any contribution large or small in the form of:
• A donation via our Justgiving fundraising page - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/antscharityball2019
OR
• Item for raffle/silent auction
With this being such a personal cause to us and our family, we thought it would be a fantastic way of giving back to a charity that do so much to help save lives of so many babies and support their families. Without this service in place these babies won’t receive the care that they need to survive.
Many thanks in advance
Naomi & Lee Fox