A 125-mile cycle ride in memory of baby Alice Stevens has raised more than £7,000 for a special care baby unit and a children’s hospice.
Alice, who was born with Edwards Syndrome, or Trisomy 18, spent the seven weeks and two days that she lived at the Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust-run Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
Afterwards she was taken to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices in Milton.
As a thank you for her care her mum and dad Rob and Zoe Robinson, from March organsied the charity bike ride.
CCS chief executive Matthew Winn, who met the team as the end of their ride said: “The Ride-for-Alice team undertook a phenomenal bike ride to raise money for our neo-natal unit and EACH.
“Our clinical team had the privilege to care for Alice during her short life and we are very indebted to the fundraising efforts of Rob and Zoe and their friends and family.
“We will be putting the money raised to really good use in the baby unit so a new set of families can benefit from the improved environment.”
Zoe said: “What was really nice was that there were staff members there from the charities when the riders arrived at Milton and Hinchingbrooke.”
Rob added: “The nurses at SCBU could not have done anything more when Alice was in the unit. Some of the staff came to meet us at the finishing line even though they were not working that day.
“It’s that kind of above and beyond the call of duty care that we wanted to thank them for by raising money for the unit.
“We wanted to do something so other babies and parents can benefit from some of the nice things that the extra money can buy, like the sensory lights that were on Alice’s cot.”
The money raised will be given to Dreamdrops, the Huntingdonshire children’s charity that provides SCBU with all “the little extras that public funds cannot afford” and EACH.
Alice’s condition leads to low birth weight and serious medical conditions, and only a five per cent survival rate for more than 12 months.
Rob and 11 friends started their Ride for Alice at Each, in Quidenham, Norfolk. Stopping off along the way at the Ipswich and Milton branches of the hospice, the ride ended at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
Rob and Zoe thanked all the cyclists, support teams and their families for their help in making the event a success.
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