Lanarkshire referees have pitched in to support a neonatal unit that supported one of their own.
Staff from Wishaw General were beyond happy to receive £1300 from the whistlers.
The Lanarkshire Referees’ Association (LRA) raised the money during their 75th annual dance at Strathaven Hotel on April 23.
They donated the money as a thank you for the care delivered by the hospital to daughter of former LRA president, and current specialist assistant referee, Paul O’Neill.
Paul, who works for NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership as an interim locality manager in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, was appreciative of the level of care and support his now 10-week-old daughter Erin received while in the neonatal unit.
He told Lanarkshire Live : “My family and I would like to thank everyone in the maternity department, neonatal unit and the special care baby unit at Wishaw General for the phenomenal care they provided to Erin.
"The support they provided to both myself and Dannielle throughout her pregnancy was also exceptional.
“I’d also like to thank the LRA for the incredibly generous donation which will go towards helping other newborns and their families who need specialist care like Erin required when she was in the hospital.”
Dannielle fell pregnant in August of 2021 and after standard maternity screening, it was discovered there was a higher than average risk of their baby suffering from a genetic condition.
Following further scans and tests, the couple - from Motherwell - received the news that their baby had an extra chromosome, Trisomy 21 - the most common form of Down’s syndrome.
Dannielle told us : “During the testing, it was a very worrying and an emotional time, but the staff at the hospital were extremely supportive and non-judgemental.
“When Erin arrived she required some support with her breathing and feeding like most premature babies, but she has really gone from strength-to-strength thanks to the excellent care received here in Wishaw and from the health visitor service."
Erin was born four weeks premature on Tuesday, April 12, and was cared for in the neonatal unit and special care baby unit for 16 days.
Sharon Oosterbosch, senior charge nurse at the uni, told us : “This is a wonderful donation and one which is greatly appreciated by the neonatal service.”
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