FAMILY members are doing a skydive to raise money for a hospital charity that helped save two prematurely born babies.

Cody-Jayne Hughes and brother-in-law Mikey Leigh, both of Greenfield, are undertaking the skydive later this summer to raise funds for Cuddles, a charity which support the Special Care Baby Unit at Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Mikey’s daughter and son were both born prematurely at Glan Clwyd, and have faced severe health problems as a result, but the family say the care and support of the staff at Glan Clwyd and Cuddles saved their lives.

On October 14, 2014 Willow Jayne Hughes was born at Glan Clwyd seven weeks premature. She required continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for around 24 hours. She was then diagnosed with a heart murmur, and stayed in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) for three weeks to help with feeding and growth.

She is now a healthy three-year-old without any health problems.

Three years later her brother Oscar Hughes was also born at Glan Clwyd on March 17 of this year. He was born at 27 weeks gestation, following an emergency C-Section after a Cord Prolapse, and he has been in the High Dependency Unit for the past five weeks in SCBU, where he is currently staying.

During his short life Oscar has already faced many health problems, having been diagnosed with Ecoli Meningitis at five-days-old, suffering two bleeds within the ventricles of the brain, Chronic Ling Disease and Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

But auntie, Cody-Jayne Hughes, cannot thank the hospital enough for their treatment and care.

She said: “My family has been affected in a huge way as a result of both my niece and nephew being born premature, one at 34 weeks and one at 27 weeks. The support that Glan Clwyd have provided to my sister, her husband and the whole family is just amazing, and it enabled us to have the strength to get through an extremely challenging and difficult time.

“Words will never be enough to thank Glan Clwyd for their hard work and support, but I am now in a position to do something to support them and help them to be able to continue their amazing work.

“Having this opportunity means the world to me and my family. We are aware of the financial challenges the NHS continue to face, but we also know the huge difference that SCBU can make to a child’s life. They saved my niece and nephew and I hope that this fundraiser can help towards their future work in saving the lives of other babies.’’

Mother of Willow and Oscar, Kara Jayne Gray from Greenfield, said: “I’m so proud of my husband and my sister. And I’m so thankful to Glan Clwyd’s baby care unit, I think without them we would have lost Willow and Oscar.

“The nurses have been amazing, nothing is ever to much for them, even if it’s just a reassurance on a daily basis and getting me and dad (Mikey) involved as much as they can.”

Cody and Mikey aim to raise £600 for Cuddles. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/codyjaynehughes