 By Tracey Bryce
CHRISTMAS may be long past, but The Sunday Post was delighted to receive a
very belated present last week — a £64 donation to our Sick Children’s Appeal.
 The cheque came from a team of administration assistants at Clydebank High School, headed by Diane Cramb, who each sacrificed a Christmas present in favour of boosting our fundraising total.
Diane (57), from Killearn, explained, “We normally buy Christmas gifts for each other and do a “secret Santa” on our Christmas night out.
“But this year we decided, instead of spending money on gifts, we’d each put a token gesture into a pot and donate the cash to the Sunday Post Sick Children’s Appeal.
“It’s just unfortunate it’s late, but I always kept forgetting to lift my chequebook. Still, better late than never.”
Diane and her colleagues chose our appeal as a means of thanking staff at Glasgow’s Yorkhill Sick Children’s Hospital who helped save the life of her great-nephew, Lewis Cramb.
Fantastic
“Yorkhill were fantastic with Lewis, so we all just wanted to say thank you,” Diane added.
Lewis had only been given a 50-50 chance of even surviving the birth after his mum, Angela, suffered severe pre-eclampsia — a condition dangerous to both mother and infant.
Little Lewis survived the delivery by Caesarean section, but spent his first nine weeks in an incubator and also needed a tricky operation to close an abnormal blood vessel in his heart.
Meanwhile, mum Angela, who was unconscious after the birth, was in intensive care.
But both came through in one piece, thanks to the skill of staff at Yorkhill and the Western Infirmary.
Lewis is now a healthy, happy 13-month-old baby full of fun and energy and Angela has recovered well.
Progress
Sadly, Lewis missed out on his first birthday celebrations in January, after contracting bronchiolitis and ending up in hospital. But that was a small price to pay for the progress he is making every day.
“He’s coming on leaps and bounds,” Angela explained. “Just last week, Lewis came off oxygen because he can now cope with breathing on his own.
“When he was discharged from hospital, his lungs weren’t functioning properly. He had to use oxygen cylinders for a long time, but has gradually reduced his reliance on them and a few weeks ago the hospital said he doesn’t need them any more.”
Angela added, “Coming off oxygen was the last big hurdle we’ve had to face as a result of Lewis’s prematurity. There have been so many problems we have had to overcome, but hopefully now we can all just move on and enjoy life with a normal, healthy baby.”
Lewis’ great-aunt Diane’s cheque will be added to the thousands of pounds already raised for our appeal by the tot’s parents, Angela and Jason Cramb.
In September, the couple, from Old Kilpatrick, near Clydebank, joined forces with 12 friends and family members to complete the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow and raised
just under £4000.
 IF YOU have a special reason for contributing to or raising funds
for our appeal then we’d like to hear from you. It could be that you’d like to thank caring staff for the treatment they’ve provided in your hour of need.
Or perhaps a relative spent time in one of Scotland’s children’s hospitals and the experience has left a lasting impression
on your family’s life.
Whatever the reason, please let us know.
We’d be delighted to share your experiences with our readers.
And, who knows, it may inspire others to follow in your
fundraising footsteps.
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