Silver StarSilver Newsletter Star Newsletter Issue Issue 60 60 May May 2015 2015

NEWSLETTER

INCORPORATING A NEARLY NEW & PRE LOVED TABLE TOP SALE (BOOKING ESSENTIAL £10 per table) CIRCUS SKILLS WORKSHOP STILT WALKING, MODELLING BBQ & CREAM TEAS PLUS LOTS MORE

RAFFLE Please fnd rafe tckets enclosed. As usual we have some generously donated prizes. Our twice yearly rafes are a VITAL fundraiser for us and we ask you to take part if you possibly can. Fill in the stubs and return with payment to Maggie in the envelope provided or bring on the day. Please make cheques out to ‘Silver Star Society’ and if you need any more tckets contact Maggie or Clare at the Silver Star ofce. Thank you.

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy Silver Star Newsletter Issue 60 May 2015

Contacts & For Yo u r Hospital Charity Information.

Abseil Join the Silver Star Society 100 ft at the JR, Oxford, for our To become a member and receive the hospital causes newsleter free of charge, please e mail Maggie See inside for details or Clare on [email protected]. Please be sure to inform us if you would like your Sunday 14th June baby’s name to be included in the newsleter as and Sunday this does not automatcally happen. 20th September

Contact Details Maggie Findlay & Clare Edwards

Midwives, Amanda and Aletha, Silver Star Society Ofce, Level 6, Women’s celebrate after their abseil. Centre, John Radclife Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU. www.hospitalcharity.co.uk e: [email protected] Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds (registered charity no 1057295) t: 01865 743444 supports the work of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust Tel. 01865 221718 E-mail: [email protected] The abseil for Silver Star is on Sunday September 20th at 11-12 noon. We are appealing for brave volunteers. Why not pair up with a friend www.silverstaroxford.org and get double the Fun AND Funds?! It costs £20 to enter and we www.facebook.com/www.silverstaroxford.org ask that you raise a minimum of £100 for charity. To enter, please contact the phone number, or e mail at the botom of the poster. Twiter: @SilverstarStar Many thanks. THANK YOU

Donations from October 2014

Mrs Harvey knited beautful cardigans for Mrs Gant Kate Fletcher our baby clothes stall. Her Grandchildren Charlie & Any were born in the Unit. Mrs Lyn Trinder Green Biologics Limited Christmas rafe INCA Financial Services. Cathryn Higgins For her Abseil Granny Ali in appreciaton for the safe arrival of granddaughter Ailish Wheatley W.I. Mr & Mrs Harvey, in thanks for their care and safe delivery of their twin boys, James Natasha Quigley Barclays Bank, Cornmarket Oxford and Fraser. Sarah Smith in memory of her two nephews Mrs Odia, in memory of Henry Odia Laura Reynolds knited baby clothes and blankets. Samantha Steele Mr & Mrs Hamilton, in memory of baby boy Zach Thomas Hamilton Donatons to our Just Giving page from: Tom, Steve & Johnny for completng the Tough Mudder Challenge Mrs C Quainton Marine Davies and proud grandparents, Barbara and Malcolm Davies for the safe Debbie Rendell from Tesco Distributon The Parish of St. Andrew, Headington, arrival of baby Emma. Didcot – knited items Oxford Elsevier Customer Service Team Mr & Mrs Pickering Toby Lockyer Mr & Mrs Lunn

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy Silver Star Newsletter Issue 60 May 2015 London Marathon 2015 We had seven sensatonal Marathon runners this year. Huge thanks to all of you for your achievements; we are very impressed and grateful to each of you! Here are your stories:

“During”- The organisation of the event was second to none. Despite being Marisha Stimpson at the start line by myself I certainly never alone. There was a fantastic ‘It was a fantastic day, the weather was perfect for sense of mutual support between runners at all stages. The training runs running. It was the culmination of 4 months hard may have prepared my body, and to a certain extent my mind, to complete training, over 350 training miles completed before the course, but they certainly didn’t prepare me for the overwhelming crowd the big day. It takes immense discipline to get out support and noise that comes at every step. At points the noise was almost on cold, dark, wet January evenings, after a long day suffocating. As for the most emotional points - well turning the corner to at work, but the reward from the crowds and when cross Tower Bridge. Maybe the thought of almost being half way, or possibly Buckingham palace appears in your sights on race the immense size of the first tower in front of you, either way there was still day makes it all worth it. Pain is only temporary, the a lump in the throat. However that was tiny in comparison to the emotions experience of The London Marathon stays with you that overwhelm you as you turn the final corner, seeing the finish line and the forever.’ realisation that “I’VE DONE IT!” Jo Aplin Tony Sturgess ‘I’d like to thank the Silver Star ‘Off I set, in perfect conditions for a Society for giving me the opportunity marathon. Again like last year the crowd to run the London marathon. It was were just fantastic cheering everybody a massive roller coaster of emotions on. I went through the half way stage from training through to the day. I at 02:02 feeling really good and virtually absolutely loved every moment and bang on pace for a sub 4 hour finish, knowing you’re doing it for such a although running near a guy for 5 miles great cause definitely pulls you through as well as the crowds shouting your bouncing a basketball in each hand was a little distracting! How do these name! Would I do it again? Never say never!’ people do it? A few more miles up the road disaster struck! I had to stop for a couple of comfort breaks, this cost me a considerable amount of time. Also Justin Lee my left foot started to hurt a bit, an inspection at the finish revealed a loss of two toenails. I have never suffered anything like this on any training run I ‘Where do I start describing what an have done. amazing personal journey experienced in being a part of the London Marathon. The enthusiastic crowd shouting my name spurred me on to the finish. It began nervously but passionately in Although not getting near my target time was disappointing the amazing being able to contribute to a wonderful day was magical and a brilliant experience. Thank you Silver Star for giving charity Silver Star, whilst testingmy own me the opportunity and support running in this extraordinary event. I have limits to accomplish such an experience. entered the ballot for next year’s race and would love to run on your behalf if What followed on the day was not only successful.’ very personal in pushing my own pain thresholds being determined to complete, but a journey of inspiration fuelled Annie Cowen by meeting so many individuals along the way. I was left breathless not only in the physical sense! but by the true spirit of people & their kind words ‘I was absolutely thrilled to finish the London of encouragement & motivation. Various memories of the day will always marathon in one piece. Having raised well stay with me; a lady approached me thanking me as I ran, she herself & her over my original target I was motivated to babies had been supported by Silver Star. I met so many that inspired me keep going, even when the going got tough! to keep going & was also contacted recently by a man I had met on the day, The support on route was amazing and I also sending an e-mail saying I had inspired him to complete, how humbling. I had a message in the morning to say that the have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis today following recent tests, midwives on Level 6 were tracking my progress but this does not prevent my motivation to run again & I would welcome live which gave me a real boost. All in all, a future opportunities. If anything I also learned that no physical impairment great day out!’ has control to prevent accomplishment when the passion & will is present. So many displayed this during the Marathon. ‘ Daniel Mason ‘I would personally like to thank Silver Star for giving me this amazing Debbie Canham opportunity and one that I will remember and treasure for years to come. ‘For me completing the London Marathon was I won’t lie I found the training and the end of the race very challenging the most amazing realisation of a wish from but also inspirational. In the those dark times, particularly the cold, wet my “bucket list”. Others that had run before and dark morning and the last 3 or 4 miles I personally drew upon all the described to me the feelings that I could expect support I have had from family and friends, to have before, during and at the end, but these including an amazing amount of donations, comments didn’t fully prepare me for what the totalling over £2,000. This together with the whole experience would mean. knowledge of what great work Silver Star does and how my son was specifically helped “Before” - The training leading up to the event, by the John Radcliffe hospital helped me was as hard as I expected, although I was fortunate get through those times and ultimately over enough to avoid some of the harsh weather that that finish line at 26.2 miles! Disappointing winter training can sometimes throw into the I was only 5 minutes off my target time of mix. I certainly had moments of doubt on some of those training runs as they 4hrs and whilst a shame it maybe to Silver got longer each week. However I made it through to the longest training run Star’s benefit as I am sure at some time I of 20 miles and still didn’t believe those that said that “the hardest part is will be back to try and get under that elusive now behind you”. How could that be given that I needed to run another 6.2 4hrs and hopefully raising even more for this miles on the day? fantastic charity.’

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy Silver Star Newsletter Issue 60 May 2015 Silver Star Patient’s Stories Emma Walker Our Silver Star Miracle During my pregnancy in 2009-10, I was put under the care of the Silver ‘On Sunday the 9th of March last Star Society, due to ongoing kidney problems classing me as a high risk year, my husband and I sadly lost case. our baby boy at 25 and a half weeks. I had severe pre-eclampsia The Consultants, Midwives and other staf involved in Silver Star were all and he had IUGR. He weighed only incredibly supportve and caring during what became a rather difcult, 430 grams and sadly didn’t make both emotonally and physically, pregnancy. it. We named him Baby Brown and I have recently taken up sometmes refer to him as BB. running and it has been a Needless to say we were absolutely long desire of mine to run heart broken and on top of that the Great North Run. seriously worried about my health. There is no charity I would The care we received from Silver rather raise money for than Star was absolutely amazing; we stayed together in the family room the Silver Star Society and I for just over 2 weeks and were am delighted to be able to guided through the hardest tme give something back to this of our lives by the most incredible wonderful service, who give team of people. so much help to so many families. One year on and at 26 weeks we were hit again with the news I had pre- eclampsia and our baby had IUGR. It was all too familiar. I was moved on to Level 6, given steroid injectons and monitored daily once again, as was our baby girl. Finally on the 24th March afer hours of monitoring and Stacey Eccles daily scans, at 27 weeks and 5 days it was tme for her to come out. We were taken for an emergency c- secton and a few hours afer the Stacey was looked afer by Silver decision had been made Isabella Rose Brown arrived! Weighing 1lb 9oz! Star during her pregnancy and is We couldn’t believe our baby was safely here. arranging a Charity in aid of Silver Star at Didcot Football Club Isabella is now staying in SCBU untl she is ready to come home with on 12th June. us. She is doing really well; she is ‘I decided to arrange a charity tny but perfect. We will never ever summer ball in aid of the silver forget the care we received on star unit as I hope it shows the Level 6. appreciaton the staf went to We are so proud to have had throughout my pregnancy of my daughter with their tme and care they both our Silver Star babies and gave me. I also hope it raises more recogniton for the charity in order to know that physically and mentally help raise more funds for equipment needed.’ we couldn’t have got through it without the care and support of Quiz 2015 everyone involved. With thanks Afer a slow start in tckets sales we managed to sell over 100. Beth & always. David did a fantastc job with the questons which were based on a St Patrick’s Day theme. There were diferent rounds which included music, geography, history, general knowledge and more. As the night progressed, the tables started to get very compettve. We had a break for pizza which went down really well as did the wine! The Level 6 eventual winners were……..The Silver Star Society Commitee!!! Wow, Cake Sale how clever are we? Our lovely midwife, Annie, who also We made a proft of £500 on the evening which was really good. The ran the Marathon, organised this cake general feedback from everyone was that the quiz needs to become an sale to help raise funds. annual event.

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy Silver Star Newsletter Issue 60 May 2015

Silver Star Unit News We are happy to report that thanks to the Silver Star Society’s generosity we have made some wonderful purchases since October 2014. An amazing train table for our Outpatents department on Level 6 and we have ordered a DVD unit which will also be situated in Outpatents. We hope these items will keep children happy and occupied while their Mums are atending appointments. Unfortunately waitng tmes can be long and stressful, we’re hoping that by keeping the children happy, our Mums will be less stressed. We also have on order a sonic aid and blood pressure monitor, both items are used daily in the care of patents.We entered 2 staf teams in the quiz this year and all enjoyed a great night out, competng against each other as well as the other 10 teams. Most of our staf came along and helped at the Christmas . Some ran the wonderful cake sale and others on various other stalls. We know how important it is to support the charity and we also enjoy catching up with patents and their children who make up the Silver Star family. Dr. May Soh The latest Obstetric Physician to join the Silver Star team tells her story: ‘The last four months with the Silver Star Team have been an exceptonal experience. Coming from Auckland, New Zealand (via London for the last fve years), and having travelled a bit, I have yet to encounter a more welcoming and inclusive group who are not only kind, but also provide the women (and their families) with an exceptonal service and (actually) ‘Gold Star’ care throughout their pregnancy. The members of the team have been inspiratonal in their dedicaton to our Silver Star women. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have landed this Locum Consultant Obstetric Medicine positon! I have huge shoes to fll with the void lef by Dr.Oier Ateka who was much loved by the team. My pet project has been making the ‘Silver Star Rapid Access Clinic’ a more accessible service for GPs, midwives, obstetricians and other clinicians. Obstetric Medicine is a wonderful sub-specialty because pregnant women present in a myriad of ways that are ofen befuddling. I believe it is important to provide support and reassurance for anyone keen to provide the best possible care for their pregnant women. My door is always open (and I am usually prompt in replying to emails!) for anyone to pop in with a queston - or merely to bounce ideas of! I look forward to meetng everyone; and am relishing the experience of being a member of the Silver Star team. ‘ Level 6 News from Ward Manager, Alison Wright The Silver Star Society has paid for 2 wiskaway beds to be fted into 2 single rooms on Level 6. These beds will enable partners to stay with their loved ones before & afer the birth. This can be so important in many ways, providing emotonal as well as practcal support. The feedback from the patents has been excellent, it makes life so much less stressful for Mums if they have their partners next to them and that has to be a good thing. Helen & I are very grateful to the charity for providing these wonderful beds and send thanks all those who fund raised to help buy them. We also want to say a huge thanks to Annie Cowen our lovely Midwife here on L6 who recently took part in the London Marathon for the Silver Star Society. Annie trained really hard alongside working her normal shifs and looking afer her 2 sons & husband! She is a SUPERSTAR and we want to thank her for her hard work. We entered a team in this year’s Quiz, which was great fun. We didn’t do that well but really enjoyed our night out and the company of our work colleagues. It is a fun way to raise money for the charity and I know all those who took part on the evening had a lovely tme. Thanks again for your support, the extras you help to buy really help us in our day to day work. Report from Level 5

Late last year, Level 5 gained funding to convert a 4 bedded bay into two family rooms to enhance patent’s experience Dates for your who are admited for long term stays. The rooms have been created so women who require extra support in their Diary: pregnancy now have accommodaton for their partner/relatve to stay in hospital with them. Summer Party Thanks to funding from the Silver Star Society the rooms were fnished of with fat screen televisions, fridges and Saturday June 27th 12-3pm tea and cofee making facilites. The rooms look superb and Abseil with the added extras provided by the charity creates a more Sunday September 20th 11-12 noon welcoming ‘home from home’ feel. Christmas Party Level 5 staf are incredibly grateful for the support they receive from the Silver Star Society and in return have arranged a Saturday December 5th 12-3pm cake sale raising nearly £200. A team of 10 staf also atended the Charity Quiz and had a great night and we are in the process of putng together a team of brave souls to do the abseil for Silver Star in September.

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy Silver Star Newsletter Issue 60 May 2015

Baby Names from May 2014

Jessica Rose Paterson Rory Robert Cowell Jaiden Sahota Harry Haycock 17th October 2014 7th January 2015 3rd February 2015 26th March 2015 5lb 3 1/4oz 4.56 kg 4lb 9oz 8lb 5ozs

Raiya Ashley Devine Mia Ruter Sadie Lewis Aditya Data 19th October 2014 7th January 2015 3rd February 2015 30th March 2015 1.8kg 7lb 7oz 5lb 1oz 2.410kg

Stanley James Haddrell Rory Robert Cowell Fleur Celine Rodger Ashworth Lacey Mae Rossiter 8th November 2014 7th January 2015 5th February 2015 15th April 2015 8lb 14oz 4.56 kg 4lb 15oz Harry Michael O’Sullivan Amelie Amy Clark Tehya Roberts Dawn Wats 6th February 2015 18th November 2014 9th January 2015 6lb 3 ½ oz 14th April 2015 10lbs 15.5oz 6lb 1oz 6 1/2lbs Bethan Davies Samuel Robert Hirst Rosie Kit Roots-Pety Niamh Owen 7th February 2015 11th November 2014 9th January 2015 6lb 3oz 24th April 2015 4lb 8oz 3.15kg 7lbs 6oz Ben William Gaskell Mollie Eve Rees George David Care Forbes 8th February 2015 14th November 2014 14th January 2015 8lb 1oz Names not 8lb 111/2 oz 6lb 1oz previously recorded Emma Davies Wynter Lily Milsom-Taylor Jayden Earnshaw 18th February 2015 Albert Henry Mackenzie-King 20th November 2014 16th January 2015 3480g 8lb 12oz 2.55kg 1st January 2014 3lb 15oz Phoebe Szmajduch Ailish Maisie Colquhoun Lilly-May Craske 23rd February 2015 Clara Ann Atkins 22nd November 2014 17th January 2015 3650g 5lb 5oz 2.25kg 13th March 2014 7lb 10oz Imogen Lily Mackenzie-King Baby Girl Hayward Mohammed Zafran 26th February 2015 Hunter Le Tissier 28th November 2014 26th January 2015 2.25kg 7lbs 2oz 7lb 10oz 28th March 2014 4lbs 12oz

Finley Carter Alfe Hacket Teddy David Peter Lax Hendrix Le Tissier 6th Dec 2014 30th January 2015 27th February 2015 7lbs 15ozs 3405g 6lb 1oz 28th March 2014 5lbs 2oz

Joshua Johnathan Michael Ashton Brooke Anna Braithwaite Ots Ellis Clarke Iley Jamie Mitchell-Biswell 12th December 2014 31st January 2015 15th March 2015 8lb 12oz 4lb 2oz 9lb 4oz 15th August 2014 8lb 9oz

Evelyn Louise Farrell Darcie-Rae Joy Ayers Teddy Price 31st December 2014 31st January 2015 18th March 2015 2lb 14oz 4lb 4oz 7lbs 14oz

Dominic Forster Eli Tomos Francis Leeson Brooks Kyden Byles 5th January 2015 1st February 2015 18th March 2015 3.61kg 6lbs 1oz 9lb 4 ½ ozs

Liyana Al-Hamdi Baby Sackey Jack Ikin 6th January 2015 2nd February 2015 23rd March 2015 6lb 10oz 3480g 7lbs 4ozs

Lola Dickerson Felicia Cole Isabella Rose Brown 6th January 2015 3rd February 2015 24th March 2015 5lb 12oz 8lb 61/2oz 1lb 9oz

Offering special care to mothers with medical complications in pregnancy