A soft play manager who spent the festive season critically ill in hospital is planning to make Christmas special for children who have to spend it in hospital this year.
Calli Tully, 25, was born with a hole in her heart and had to undergo emergency surgery when she was 17 to remove a muscle mass that had developed. She spent the beginning of December 2014 on Ward 23 at the Freeman Hospital, in Heaton, and was moved by the number of children who were unable to spend Christmas at home.
Her experiences have driven her to make sure Children who have to spend Christmas in hospital have the best day possible. And now she is calling on the public to help her in her mission by helping to raise funds to buy gifts.
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Calli, from Dudley, said: "I just want to do what I can to make Christmas special for those who have to spend it in hospital."
She added: "I was a bit worried this year about the fundraising because I know people have been having a difficult time at the minute with the cost of everything and I know everything is so expensive at the minute. But people have been so generous already."
Since 2017, Calli has raised money to buy gifts for children on the heart unit, which she delivers each Christmas Eve. She also arranges for special guests, such as Disney characters, to help her hand out presents to the children and she packages food hampers for all of the parents who spend Christmas in hospital with their children.
Her fundraising efforts have previously helped to buy gifts such as games consoles for the ward. And this year 'Calli's Heart Campaign' has been extra busy as she has already managed to complete a number of gift deliveries to the ward on Valentine's Day, Easter and Halloween.
A fundraising event held at Ace Playce soft play, in Killingworth, in September provided a good start to this year's fundraising efforts as it helped to raise £1,000 for 'Calli's Heart Campaign'. And donations are still being made via her GoFundMe page.
But this will be the first Christmas she has been able to drop the Christmas gifts off in person since the Coronavirus pandemic which prevented visits in hospitals.
She added: "It will be absolutely amazing to go back into the hospital this year. For the past couple of years I've just had to drop them off at the doors but hopefully this year I will be able to go onto the ward again."
Donations towards Calli’s fundraiser can be made via the link to her GoFundMe page here.
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