A grateful mum has said a huge thank you to Walsall Manor Hospital’s Neonatal Unit by handing over a cheque for £2,000.

Hayley Pugh is the Managing Director of Oakley Recruitment and her company has been fundraising for the unit over the last 12 months – with Hayley herself taking the plunge, literally!

“I did a skydive in September which was a mixture of incredible and nerve wracking and we have also done a Wolf Run because this is such a good cause and we want to raise awareness of how fantastic the unit is,” she said.

Hayley had her first son Ethan at Walsall Manor Hospital 13 years ago. He was born at 28 weeks and weighed just two pounds and 11 ounces.

Her second son Jacob, now nine, was born at 31 weeks and weighed three pounds and three ounces.

Both babies were cared for in Neonatal and Hayley has described the support and care as “unbelievable.”

“Unless you’ve been a Neonatal mum you have no idea of this whole new world you’re going into and the staff made a really worrying and scary time bearable for me and my husband Steve,” said Hayley. “They are unbelievable and do so much to make the whole family feel safe and secure.

“We are lucky in that both our boys have thrived and you’d look at them now and not have any idea they started their lives as premature babies. We know that other babies can go on to have health issues and we know that Neonatal staff support families beyond their time in the unit.”

Hayley and her sons came into the hospital to hand the cheque over to Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Well Wishers charity.

Georgie Westley, Fundraising Manager, added: “This is such a generous donation – our thanks to Hayley for her fundraising and being brave enough to do that skydive!”