Isobel was born with a hole in the heart and had two open-heart operations as a very tiny baby. Isobel and her twin sister lived over an hour away from the hospital where she was being treated.

At such a stressful time for the whole family, the time spent commuting from home to hospital was enormously time consuming.

Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation is raising funds for equipment and other comforts for patients like Isobel and her family such as family accommodation units and facilities where parents and siblings can stay and remain close to the hospital, keeping the whole family together at this crucial time.

Maria required an emergency caesarean to deliver baby Tara at 6 months.  Tara was transferred to Intensive Care weighing just 2 lbs unable to breathe on her own.  She had to be kept completely still for two weeks.  Her brain was regularly scanned and she was fed only half a millilitre of milk at a time.

The odds were against her, but Tara survived many a crisis in the first few months, requiring breathing assistance 24 hours a day.  Tara is now healthy and starting school.

Without specialist care, Tara’s story would be very different.  Her Mother Maria said ‘We have a wonderful, bright and beautiful little girl…..and we are eternally grateful to the Hospital for giving Tara the gift of life.’

Survival rates for premature babies are increasing and the chances of a positive long-term outcome improving.  By supporting Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation you can help to give babies like Tara the chance of life they deserve