A 50th birthday milestone for Moffat’s Hazel Porteous has resulted in an amazing £1,220 being gifted to the region’s neonatal unit as a thank you for helping save her life.
Hazel weighed the same as a bag of sugar when she was born six weeks premature in the former Nithbank Hospital in Dumfries in 1974 and decided she wanted to give thanks for the care received.
So she asked friends and family attending her summer birthday party in Moffat Town Hall to give donations for the neonatal unit at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary instead of presents.
And she was delighted to finally get the chance to hand over athe big cheque to staff at the unit on Thursday.
The big-hearted lady, who has “everything I want,” said: “I was two pounds seven ounces [1.1kg] when I was born, but things have advanced so much – you see premature babies born now that are even tinier than me.
“I realised I had never done anything for the neonatal unit, and I thought I should to help their continued work.
“So I decided to ask for donations to the unit and was amazed at how much everyone gave. Thank you so much.”
Neonatal unit senior charge nurse Becky McKnight was delighted with the thoughtful cash boost and said: “We are very grateful for this extremely generous gift. Many thanks to Hazel for organising it and to everyone who donated.”
The money will sit in the Dumfries and Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund and will be earmarked to support the neonatal unit with anything it needs.
The facility is classed as a level two unit, meaning that it can provide high-dependency care for some premature babies. Newborn babies who are very premature or who need the highest level of care are transferred to a level three neonatal intensive care unit in Edinburgh or Glasgow.