Host a bake sale and support Great Ormond Street Hospital

A St Neots family are encouraging people to host a bake sale to raise vital funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Maia Wiggett, who is now aged three, received life-saving treatment at the world-renowned children’s hospital after she was diagnosed with a rare heart defect shortly after her birth.

Her parents, Shaun and Meera are helping to promote the GOSH charity’s Bake It Better appeal, which runs from May 21-27.

Schools, individuals and organisations can sign up to the appeal and bake cakes, and treats to sell to friends and work colleagues.

Maia was transferred to GOSH for urgent surgery on her heart when she was two months old and while she was at the hospital, doctors discovered she also had long segment tracheal stenosis (narrowing of the trachea which provides air to and from the lungs). As well as an operation on her heart, surgeons performed a slide tracheoplasty, a pioneering surgery technique developed at GOSH which shortens and widens the trachea, but makes it stronger and helped Maia to breathe.

While Maia was recovering from her surgery, Shaun and Meera stayed in parent accommodation just minutes from the hospital, which the charity raises funds to support. The couple want to show their appreciation and have held several fundraising events and now Maia features as one of the ‘faces’ of the national fundraising campaign.

“The care Maia received both at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and GOSH was fantastic, all the staff and volunteers at GOSH are so caring and so personable,” said Meera.

“Staying close to Maia was important to us as I wanted to be there for her and do as much as I could to help her recovery. Being so close in parent accommodation meant we could visit the ward at any time, day or night. We are so lucky in this country to have a place like GOSH to provide the care we needed for Maia.”

Laura Savory, head of community fundraising, added: “Holding a Bake it Better bake sale is a simple and fun way to spend time with family, friends, or the wider community and every penny raised will make a huge difference to seriously ill children from around the UK who are cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We are extremely grateful to Meera and her family for sharing their story and we hope they have inspired lots of people to get involved.”

INFO: Register for your free Bake it Better kit which contains fundraising tips, at: www.gosh.org/bakeitbetter.