Parents Raised Over £2,000 At Abseil

Two grateful parents from Halesowen who abseiled down the side of the iconic Custard Factory raised over £2,000 for us, as thanks for the care their daughter has received at our hospital since birth.

Married couple, adrenaline junkie Dom Honey and Jen — who isn’t quite as keen on heights — took on our annual abseil to raise the funds to thank the teams that care their three-year-old daughter, Thea.

Jen was pregnant with Thea when a scan showed that her kidneys weren’t developing correctly but it wasn’t until an ultrasound scan after she was born that doctors at our hospital were able to see that she had a condition called ‘horseshoe kidney’. The condition meant that Thea’s kidneys were fused together, forming a U-shape, and one of the ureters, the tube that allows urine to pass from the kidneys to the bladder, was dilated, stopping the left side of her kidney from draining fully.

Doctors decided to monitor Thea’s condition but by the time she was two, her condition had worsened, and doctors broke the news to Jen and Dom that Thea would need an operation to insert a stent and help drain her kidney.

The operation was a success and later that year Thea had an ultrasound scan which showed the stent was doing it’s job. A few months later, Thea underwent another operation to remove it. Thankfully, Thea’s condition has now stabilised but she will continue to be closely monitored by our renal team.

Thea has also recently been diagnosed with a heart condition called Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, which means one of the valves in her heart is narrower than it should be, restricting blood flow, so she’s also under the care of our cardiology team and will likely need heart surgery in the future.

Grateful for the care, monitoring and treatment Thea has received, and the care yet to come, Jen and Dom signed up to take on the abseil, asking friends and family to sponsor them to raise funds to support our hospital.

Jen said: “We’re so lucky to have such a fantastic specialist hospital right on our doorstep and we’re just so thankful for everything the staff have done for Thea, especially the wonderful play team, who distracted her through her treatment.

“I was really anxious about the abseil and even booked a last-minute practice run at a climbing centre a couple of days before to help calm my nerves. Dom on the other hand really enjoyed it and would do it again happily! It was a great day, the atmosphere was brilliant and so supportive. We chatted to a few other parents and hearing their stories and connections to the hospital just spurred us on.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Jen and Dom for choosing to support our hospital and charity by signing up to join in with our abseil.

“They did amazingly on the day and as they came down, their fundraising total went up, helping us to continue supporting children like Thea.”