Parents raise £2,500 for Carmarthenshire Special Care Baby Unit

Pictured above: Staff from SCBU with Nicole, Rhys and Eila Fflur Harries.

Parents Nicole and Rhys Harries hosted a bingo lingo event and raffle and raised £2,500 for the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Glangwili Hospital.

Nicole and Rhys, from Llanelli, organised the fundraising event as a thank you for the fantastic care their daughter, Eila Fflur Harries, received on the unit.

Nicole also ran the Llanelli Half Marathon in February.

Nicole said: “Our daughter, Eila, was born six weeks early. After spending a month at SCBU and seeing first-hand what goes on within those four walls, we truly believe that SCBU nurses are real life superheroes

“The care Eila received was second to none and the support they provided us with as parents was absolutely amazing. Being our first child and very unexpected, this was one of the toughest things we have been through as a family, and we are so unbelievably grateful for everything those at SCBU did for our little superstar so we wanted to give something in return.

“The bingo evening, which was led by Susan Partridge-Leach, was a great way to raise money as it was fun and exciting for all. With regards to the half marathon, I hadn't ever run further than 10km when I first signed up to do it, however, I wanted to do something that would push me out of my comfort zone and give me a sense of achievement. As challenging as it was, every single step was taken with pride knowing how much we had raised.

“We would like to say a big thank you to anyone and everyone who supported in some way, by donating, providing a raffle prize, helping with the fundraisers or just by raising awareness. We have been blown away and will forever be grateful for everyone's generosity. I'm sure the amount raised will make the biggest difference to those little ones and their families.”

Nicola Llewelyn, Head of Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are very grateful for every donation we receive. Diolch yn fawr to Jolene, Rhys and their supporters!”

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