A GRATEFUL mother is organising a sponsored walk in aid of the hospital unit which saved her baby's life when he was born six weeks early.Tracy White, 28, is aiming to boost the coffers of Colchester General Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) which cared for her son, Hayden Reid.

By Annie Davidson

A GRATEFUL mother is organising a sponsored walk in aid of the hospital unit which saved her baby's life when he was born six weeks early.

Tracy White, 28, is aiming to boost the coffers of Colchester General Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) which cared for her son, Hayden Reid.

Miss White, of Third Avenue, Frinton, had to undergo an emergency caesarean six weeks before her due date following a difficult pregnancy.

Hayden was delivered after Miss White, 28, began bleeding heavily due to placenta previa, a condition when the placenta is low-lying.

Doctors spent two hours resuscitating Hayden, who weighed 5lbs and had a hole in his lung, and he was taken to SCBU for intensive care.

Miss White and her partner, Paul Reid, were unable to hold their son for two weeks because he had an arterial line into his tummy button to take blood samples.

His heart rate also plummeted if he was stroked so his parents were only allowed to hold his hand as he lay in his incubator.

Miss White, who also has a three-year-old daughter, Bethany Reid, said Hayden caused the most concern three days after he was born when he was very unwell but later he began to recover and was discharged five weeks after he was born.

Miss White said: “The staff told us when we took Hayden home that we were lucky to have him.

“I felt I just had to do something to thank them (SCBU staff), they had been amazing to us and the support they gave us was brilliant.

“They told us everything that was going on, they were truthful with us about everything that was wrong with him and they also helped Bethany through it.

“We really needed them to be honest with us and they were.”

Now she has rallied a group of friends who will be doing a sponsored walk on December 10 from Weeley to Colchester.

Among them will be Emma and James Pudney, of Frinton, whose daughter Lauren was also treated in Colchester's SCBU.

Mrs Pudney, 30, said Lauren's temperature plunged 12 hours after her birth on April 5, 2003, and she was admitted to SCBU.

Within a day Lauren had stabilised and was back on the normal ward with her mum, who has since had a son, Daniel, aged two-and-a-half.

Mrs Pudney said: “Lauren was 8lbs 1ozs when she was born and when she was in SCBU there were four little boys who were all 2lbs each. She was the size of all four of them put together.

“I feel I was blessed that Lauren was not in there for long.

“It would be nice to give something back to those children for who things weren't as straightforward as they were for Lauren.”

Miss White said SCBU staff were pleased to be told of the sponsored walk and told her money was needed to buy blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors and to go towards the £27,000 needed for every new incubator.

Anyone who would like to join the walk or sponsor Miss White and friends can contact her on 07985 736181.

annie.davidson@eadt.co.uk