Sisters raise money with pram push

Lynette McIlroy and Jill Tennyson took part in the event at Stormont Estate last month.

TinyLife is a charity close to the hearts of this local family, following the premature birth of both sisters baby sons, just weeks apart.

Lynette’s little boy, Ollie was born at just 27 weeks weighing 2lb 4oz followed by Jill’s son, Carter at just 32.5 weeks and weighing 4lb 13oz.

Both babies spent time in the Royal Jubilee’s neonatal intensive care unit where TinyLife provided the girls with emotional support during those difficult weeks.

Lynette said: “Having a premature baby and spending prolonged time in hospital can so traumatic for all the family but to know that there is help on hand and a listening ear can ease the pressure immensely.”

It was following Ollie’s discharge from hospital, after a tiring six months, that Lynette and Jill decided to give something back and so they signed up to take part in the TinyLife pram push, pledging to raise as much money as possible for the baby charity.

Jill commented: “After what we had been through, we wanted to raise money for TinyLife to ensure that other parents, like ourselves, could benefit from TinyLife’s range of services in the future.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends, family and colleagues who sponsored Ollie and Carter at the pram push and would like to thank them.”

The boys are now healthy and meeting their milestones, Ollie is 9.5 months old and Carter almost 9 months and happily making their way into toddlerhood.

The TinyLife Pram Push 2014 raised over £10,000 with more monies expected in.

TinyLife would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in the event for their support and generosity despite the awful weather conditions.

For more information on our upcoming fundraising events, please visit our website www.tinylife.org.uk.