Prenton dad-of-two cycles 170km to raise £6,000 for the hospital where his son was born prematurely

Nov 19 2008 by Sue McCann, Birkenhead News

Cycle ride

A PRENTON man has taken part in a gruelling 170km cycle ride to raise £6,000 to thank the hospital where his son was born 13 weeks prematurely.

Bob Meadows was inspired to raise money for the Neonatal Unit at Arrowe Park Hospital after his son was born 13 weeks early in 2001.

He completed the L’Etape du Tour Mondovelo cycling challenge in France this summer, finishing 3599th out of 9484 challengers in just over eight hours.

Bob said: “I want to thank the hospital and its staff for the care received by my family. My son Robert was critically ill when he was born, weighing only 2lbs.

“Due to the help of the staff at the Neonatal Unit, Robert is now a bright and healthy six-year-old and is thriving, along with his big sister, Elizabeth, who is seven.

“When she was born prematurely, we were living in Liverpool and so she received care from the Special Care Baby Unit at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.”

Bob’s friends, family and work colleagues all donated money, with his employer Carrilion plc donating £2,000 to the cause.

Neonatal Unit manager at Arrowe Park, Jacqui Morgan, said: “We are in awe of Bob’s efforts and are so grateful to him and also to all those who sponsored him.

“We are thrilled to receive his donation which will be used towards the purchase of a hi-tech ventilator, helping us to provide further specialised care for more premature babies.”