London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
Sarnia

Local fundraiser supports London NICU

Sarnia-Lambton families who have received life saving care at Children's Hospital in London are coming together to raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit [NICU] Sunday.

Children's Health Foundation Regional Philanthropy Officer Tristan Bassett said they'll be sharing stories at Lambton Mall.

"In our hospital in London, we see over 30,000 children from across southwestern Ontario every year," said Bassett. "The majority of those children, over half of them, are from communities outside of London, like Sarnia. We see children from Windsor, Chatham, Sarnia, all the way up to Thunder Bay. So, the communities that are served by the hospital really are vast."

She said not every birth in Sarnia goes smoothly, and babies requiring advanced care rely on the NICU in London.

"The earliest we've seen a baby now is 22 weeks in our NICU. But, we see them all the way through gestation, through to full term babies for a variety of reasons. The majority of babies that do come into the NICU would be premature babies, but not all of them."

Bassett said with medical advancements, the unit is saving more babies than ever before, which means more resources are required.

"Our NICU this year alone, requires almost $1 million dollars to purchase new equipment and provide life saving resources for these babies. So, with that million dollar goal, we are going out into our community and asking people to support this fundraising initiative."

The foundation will be accepting donations from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the mall, donations can also be made online at childhealth.ca/sarnia.

There will also be free kids' activities and contests at the event.

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