Primary school children from East Devon have raised more than £1,000 in aid of a project to create a garden for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E).
Lottie Waters and her friends Cyrah, Kelsey, Brooke and Etty held a sponsored silence and cake sale at Mrs Ethelston’s C of E Primary in Uplyme on November 28.
Visiting the hospital this week to present their fundraising cheque, they said they wanted to raise money for their local NHS to thank ICU staff for saving Lottie’s dad Matt Waters’ life after he developed sepsis in 2023.
Lottie’s mum Alison Waters said Matt spent two months in ICU and staff there saved his life ‘several times’ and got him back on the road to recovery.
“We can never thank them enough for all that they did,” said Alison.
“When my husband was recovering and started to venture outside for some daylight, we were only able to wheel him to an area outside one of the hospital entrances – a dedicated garden would have been amazing.”
Lottie and her friends raised an incredible £1,005, smashing their original £200 fundraising target.
“The girls did an amazing job,” added Alison, from Seaton.
“They did a presentation in school assembly and then successfully completed a full hour’s silence. They did say that it was quite hard and they were glad when it was over!”
Debbie Allen, Royal Devon Hospitals Charity Community Fundraiser, said the money the girls have raised will go to the ICU Garden Appeal, which is hoping to raise £150,000 to create a dedicated outdoor garden space for some of the hospital’s most critically-ill patients.
An ICU garden will be an incredible addition to care at the RD&E, beyond what’s possible with NHS funding.
– Debbie Allen, Royal Devon Hospitals Charity Community Fundraiser
“Lottie and her friends are an absolute inspiration and we can’t thank them enough for supporting this special project,” added Debbie.
“It was magical to see the girls present their fundraising cheque to ICU staff. For Matt and Alison, it was their first time back in ICU since Matt was discharged and it was also a lovely moment for them to be able to thank staff for the incredible care that Matt had received.”
