Story
Thank you so much for visiting our page
As most of our friends and family already know, Lee and I became first time parents to our little boy Ralph on 27th August 2021. He was born 15 weeks premature due a placenta abruption and after 4 weeks and 2 days of being so strong and brave, NEC (necrotising enterocolitis) took his life on 26th September 2021. Ralph’s full story is on our previous JustGiving page from Feb here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/laura-mcauley1
What is NEC?
NEC is inflammation of the bowel that can cause damage to a variable extent. It usually causes a temporary intolerance of milk feeds but at its worse the bowel may become so damaged that parts of it die. NEC can affect just a small part of the bowel or sometimes the whole bowel may be affected.
Who does NEC affect?
NEC is mostly seen in premature babies but can also occur in term babies. The risk of premature babies developing NEC is thought to be higher in babies born before 32 weeks or those who weigh less than 1500g at birth. With advances in neonatal medicine many more very premature babies are surviving thus increasing the risk of NEC occurrence. NEC is less common in term babies accounting for 10% of cases.
Babies can become sick very quickly with NEC, having seemed well hours before.
What are we doing?
We have chosen to arrange ‘Ralph’s Raffle’ from 1st May as May is worldwide NEC awareness month. We will be drawing the winners on 17th May as this is worldwide NEC awareness day. We are fundraising for the charity NEC UK, who support families affected by the condition at any stage of their journey. Their objectives are to support research, raise awareness and develop relationships with other organisations to give NEC a platform to be heard and improve the outcomes for babies affected by NEC and their families.
How to enter
Tickets are £5 each and the prizes are as follows:
Hair
- Marc Antoni principal stylist ladies haircut and blow dry
- Styling by Soph ladies haircut
- The Glasshouse Salon Virginia Water ladies blow dry
Beauty
- Beauty by Lindsay luxurious relaxing facial
- Limited Edition Tropic handcare set ambassador Sally Cook
- Just For You Aesthetics - your choice of either 1ml lip filler or 3 areas of Botox including top up, salon based in Farnham
- Alexa Nail Tech 1 set of gel nails
- LC Nail Cabin 1 set of gel nails or toes
- Lucy Rose Hair & Beauty £40 voucher towards any treatment
- A relaxing “night in” for 1 hamper
Day/night out
- The Village Hotel Bracknell 1 night stay for 2 inc. use of all facilities, parking and breakfast
- Everyman Cinema tickets
- Longacres Garden Centre Bagshot £20 voucher
- 2 x £25 One 4 all gift cards
Fitness
- Ashlee Downie Personal Training package including 1 month of coaching - this would include 4 x 1-1 pt sessions, nutritional support and home/gym workout programme
- Alex Gale 2 x 60 minute personal training sessions in a private gym in Wokingham
Entertainment/hire (T&Cs apply for all)
- Florence and Friends soft play hire for the day including delivery and set up (up to 30 minutes from Farnborough)
- All About Weddings UK doughnut wall hire for event up to 60 doughnuts (Berkshire, Hampshire & Surrey)
- An A4 framed special date personalised print of your choice from Tash Thompson Design
- A lovely double sleepover tent and goodies for 2 children, including set up (Bracknell or Liverpool area - to be discussed with the winner)
- Amazing live singer Marcus Hughes is happy to perform a set for a function of your choice e.g. birthday, anniversaries, weddings etc (based on availability to be booked for 2022, Bracknell or Liverpool area - to be discussed with the winner)
Food & Drink
- Your choice of 12 cupcakes from Honeysuckle Blush Cakes
- The Royal Foresters (Oakman Inns) 3 course meal for 2 plus Golden Retriever Pub (Vintage Inns) voucher for £40 off
- Bills Restaurants £60 voucher
- Peacock Farm Restaurant (Hall & Woodhouse) £30 voucher
Retail hampers/gift cards
- Waitrose & Partners hamper of goodies inc. 2 bottles of wine, Prosecco, chocolates, tea, coffee and biscuits plus “R” mug and glass
- Morrisons £20 gift card
- Tescos hamper of treats
- Hamper of sweets donated from PVM
Please submit your entry on this page and leave your name and contact details if we are not connected on Facebook or instagram. I will then get in touch with the winners on 17th May!