Welshpool florists make blooming great donation for sick kids
Two florists from Welshpool who used their skills to create stunning floral displays at their local community centre have raised over £1,570 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, as thanks for the life-saving care the daughter of one of them received for a heart condition.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Leanne Williams and her flower arranging friend, Sionedd Hughes, were preparing for the final part of their National Association of Flower Arranging Society accreditation when Sionedd suggested using the large floral displays they would need to create to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. Leanne was touched by her friend’s thoughtful suggestion of a cause so close to her heart, after the hospital helped to fix her daughter, Madeline’s, heart just over 17 years ago.
Leanne was 20-weeks pregnant with Madeline when a scan showed that she would be born with a condition called Tricuspid Atresia. Leanne was referred to Birmingham Women’s Hospital where doctors explained that the right side of Madeline’s heart wasn’t developing correctly which would prevent normal blood flow through her heart. Without a crucial series of operations throughout childhood, the condition could be fatal, so Madeline would need to be referred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The news was unsettling but the weeks of Leanne’s pregnancy passed without complication and Madeline surprised everyone when she was born at her local hospital, at a healthy weight with fewer than expected visible signs of her condition.
On seeing how well Madeline was coping, a visiting cardiac specialist from Birmingham Children’s Hospital prescribed her with some medication before allowing Leanne and her husband, Jonathan, to take her home, requesting that she be brought to Birmingham in two weeks' time. At that appointment doctors talked Leanne through the operations little Madeline would need, starting with open-heart surgery just three weeks later. Madeline had another operation at 18-months-old and at five-years-old Madeline underwent three more surgeries in the space of three days. Almost 18 years later, Madeline is living life to its fullest, and Leanne is as grateful for the hospital’s care as the day Madeline first came out of the operating theatre.
Leanne and Sionedd were determined to put on a good show and use their arrangements to raise as much as they could for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, gaining sponsorship from their trusted flower supplier, Jvanvliet Stoke. The pair booked their local community theatre to showcase their floral art and sold raffle tickets to hopeful spectators to win the pieces.
Leanne said: “I was so touched when Sionedd suggested using our skills and our displays to raise money for a cause so close to my heart. We created three smaller displays entitled ‘Bermuda Triangle’ and ‘Wonderful World’ and then another huge display with lots of red flowers and heart shaped balloons in honour of the hospital. We can’t thank the cardiac team for everything they’ve done for Madeline over the years.”
Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re always so humbled when our families' experiences at our hospital inspire them to give back and we love to see the wonderful different and individual ways they choose to fundraise.
“The funds Leanne and Sionedd raised with their beautiful creations will go on to help us do more for brave patients just like Madeline.”
If you’ve been inspired and would like to fundraise for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, or donate, please visit bch.org.uk or call 0121 333 8506.
