Making a real and lasting difference
Since its establishment in 2010 Tour de Picnic has raised over half a million euro to help save and improve the lives of sick children in Temple Street. Thank you to our wonderful supporters and to the Vodafone Ireland Foundation whose sponsorship helped to grow the event significantly in 2011. Here is how your funds made miracles happen for our little patients.
Tour de Picnic 2010
With your help we raised over €250,000 in 2010 for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital’s Neurosurgery Appeal to assist babies and children suffering from serious brain & spinal injuries and conditions. Congratulations to all our wonderful supporters who made this possible.
Our fundraising goal for 2010 was our Neurosurgery Appeal to assist children living with diseases or injuries of the brain or spine. These include babies and children with brain tumours, brain haemorrhage and spinal malformations or injuries as well as the treatment of some forms of cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The money raised through the 2010 event has helped to fund the purchase of a specialised neurosurgical microscope as well as radiolucent operating tables to ensure our patients receive the best possible standard of care during this traumatic time in their lives.
One such family is the Doyles. At 3 ½ years old Max Doyle was diagnosed with a serious brain tumour after suffering from headaches and complaining about ‘feeling funny’. Max underwent surgery one week later, becoming the first child to have a brain tumour removed at Temple Street since the hospital’s appointment as the paediatric neurosurgery centre for all children in Ireland under the age of six. Thanks to your support the equipment was in place at Temple Street to offer Max this life saving surgery and has continued to save and improve the lives of children in our care with serious brain and spinal conditions.
With the help of our 2010 Tour de Picnic participants over €250,000 was contributed towards this project and by the end of 2010 over 200 surgeries had been preformed using this new equipment, that’s over 200 children and families that have been positively affected by your support, thank you.
‘This equipment is essential. Without it, our job would be impossible.’ Darach Crimmins, Consultant Paediatric Neuro-surgeon.
Thank you for making miracles happen for these children and their families.
Tour de Picnic 2011
With the wonderful help of our Tour de Picnic supporters again in 2011 over 133,000 children who attend Temple Street Children’s University Hospital each year will benefit from the vital, life-saving equipment and services you have helped to fund. Through your hard work and enthusiasm over €280,000 was raised in 2011 which helped to purchase a much needed heart machine as well as assist in the development of new isolation units at the hospital.
Each year over 1,300 children require cardioghraphic examination for suspected congenital heart disease or other cardiac complications and these numbers are growing. Until 2011 Temple Street did not have its own echocardiographic machine leading to equipment being brought in from another hospital as well as children having to be transferred between hospitals. With your help in 2011 we were able to develop this vital service and purchase a dedicated machine for the children of Temple Street at a cost of just over €100,000. Your wonderful support has enabled us to further develop the growing expansion of the Paediatric Cardiology service provided in Temple Street.
Another priority in 2011 for Temple Street was to address an increasing need within the Hospital for dedicated isolation facilities to protect vulnerable patients and isolate infectious patients to minimise the risk of cross infection. This is particularly important for our cystic fibrosis and respiratory patients, who can be seriously affected by cross contamination. With the help of the 2011 Tour de Picnic participants and supporters almost €180,000 went towards helping to fund this vital project.
In November 2011 three specialised isolation units were opened to patients in time for the winter season during which Temple Street sees an increase in babies and children with pneumonia and other serious infections. In the first three months almost 100 children availed of the new facilities ensuring the best possible environment for their recovery while also protecting hundreds more children from cross infection.
What your help enables us to do at Temple Street is truly live saving, thank you.
‘So much of the equipment and the machines that saved Robert’s life have come from charitable donations, fundraising and people’s generosity. I hope no one ever has to go through what we’ve gone through but if you can give as much as you can, whatever you can do, it all adds up, thank you.’ Parents of baby Robert who underwent 16 operations at Temple Street after suffering a brain haemorrhage at 2 months of age.
You don’t’ need to be a doctor to save a life, with your support we can purchase vital life saving equipment, develop patient facilities and fund essential research to help save and improve the lives of the children in our care including baby Robert.
Thank you once again for your continued support of our very special hospital.
Visit www.templestreet.ie to find out more
