Published on 11 October 2021
A tiny tot with a huge personality inspired three friends to raise more than £2,300 for the hospital staff who gave her the chance to live.
Phoenix Teanby was born 15 weeks early, in January 2020, and was cared for by staff in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the William Harvey Hospital.
The team also supported her parents Tori and Connor, and the care the whole family received inspired Joe Law, Anthony Dadd and Aaron Steward to run the Brighton marathon, raising money for the unit.
Joe said: “The team at NICU do amazing work and they did all they could to support Phoenix to ensure she could have the life every child deserves.
“She was a fighter from day one, earning the nickname Feisty Phoenix, and inspired everyone with the strength she showed.
“Her parents, family and everyone around her who loved her instantly knew that she was going to become the vibrant, beautiful and characteristic little lady she is today because of the way she conquered those early battles.
“But none of it would be possible without the support of the NICU team so we wanted to give something back by raising money for East Kent Hospitals’ Charity’s Tiny Toes appeal, which supports the unit.”
Phoenix needed blood transfusions, light therapy, and infusions directly into her stomach while she was on the unit, and her parents were able to stay nearby when she was particularly poorly.
Joe added: “On occasions things took a turn for the worse but the team were on hand all the time, supporting Phoenix with 24/7 care.
“They watched her every second of every day so they could respond when needed. On top of that they provided emotional support to Tori and Connor and included them both as much as possible so they could help support Phoenix with feeds and wire changes.
“A lot of their equipment is funded by the charity so we are delighted to be able to help them support more babies like Phoenix in the future.”
You can add to their sponsorship at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/feisty-phoenix
