“It was beyond words and nothing could ever repay them for the work they do”.
A mum from Derry is on a mission to give back to the team who cared for both her sons who were born preamturely.
Sara McHugh wants to raise awareness to baby prematurity by walking 142 miles, marking the distance between Altnagelvin and the Royal Victoria Hospital and back again.
This mammoth challenge will be spread across the month of November, which is World Prematurity Awareness Month.
Sara spoke to MyDerry about why she wanted to raise awareness.
She said: “The 142-mile distance in this fundraiser is the distance from Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry to The Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, and back again.
“This is the journey our eldest son had to do in 2020 when he was born premature and required care in both hospitals ’ NICUs, being transferred within 24 hours of birth to The Royal for his first 6 weeks, then returning to Altnagelvin for the last 8 weeks of his care.
“Three years ago, I did a fundraiser for the same cause because in 2020, my eldest son was born 15 weeks premature at 25 weeks and 3 days.”
Altnagelvin NICU has played an incredibly important role in Sara and her children’s lives.
She said: “I have now given birth to two more children, one of whom was also born premature. In 2024, I had another boy born 10 weeks early at 30 weeks and 2 days.
“Both of them required a stay in Altnagelvin NICU. The care and support provided by the team is not only for our sons but also for me and my husband, and it was beyond words and nothing could ever repay them for the work they do.
“I hope that the money raised can go some way towards either helping them with equipment that they need or would like to upgrade, or to providing gifts, snacks and drinks for the parents who spend so much of their time on the unit when their child is being cared for.
“I am currently less than 4 months since giving birth to our third child, adding to the challenge of walking these distances daily. This pregnancy managed to go full term, with our daughter being born at 38 weeks and 1 day.
“So far I have walked 5 miles per day and hope to continue this distance daily throughout if I can.”
Until Sara had experienced what it was like to have a premature baby, she had little awareness of what was ahead.
She is hoping fundraisers like this one can change that.
She said: “In general, there is not much talk of prematurity within the wider community. I hope by doing this fundraiser that I help to raise awareness of it for others.
“I have received a lot of support from friends and family already, with their donations and kind words of encouragement.
“Before I went through the NICU experience myself, I wasn’t aware of what it was and wasn’t aware of knowing others who had been through the same.
“I now know a couple of people I knew previously who had been through it before me, but I wasn’t aware at the time, and I have met lots of people through being in the NICU at the same time together.
“The Tinylife charity does a lot of fundraising and spreading awareness of prematurity, but I would like to try and help the awareness go further.
“I have set up a GoFundMe page for people to pay their donations towards.
“I am also posting publicly on my Facebook page every day about the walk I complete to help keep me accountable and so that everyone can see that I am serious about raising money for such a worthy cause.”
Sara’s GoFundMe page can be accessed here.
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