MAEVE Maria-Ivy Goodman was born without an oesophagus, eight weeks premature at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran on September 18, 2023.

She and her parents, Elisha and Michael Goodman, were rushed to the Heath Hospital in Cardiff where Maeve had to have emergency surgery writes Stanley Jones.

Now Mum Elisha wants to give something back to the Bliss charity which helped them during their nine-week stay at the Heath last year.

“It made a massive difference to have the charity’s help, you’re so emotionally distressed, so the support is really important,” said Elisha Goodman.

Maeve
Baby Maeve (Supplied)

Mrs Goodman has decided to run a bake sale on April 14 in the St James Community Hall in Wyesham to raise money for the Bliss Charity which offered her and her husband support and information during their “traumatic” stay at the Heath six months ago.

The bake sale will be part of the national “Bake for Bliss” campaign which will run from April 13-20. The charity helps connect and support families like the Goodman’s through the distress and complications of premature birth.

“Your given all of this medical information, half of which you don’t understand so getting to talk to other families who have gone through it as well is so beneficial,” said Mrs Goodman.

Bliss estimates that nearly 58,000 babies are born prematurely (before 37 weeks) in the UK every year, and a significant amount of them will need neonatal care.

That means that roughly 1 in every 13 babies in the UK are born with a higher risk of behavioural difficulties, long-term health problems or cerebral palsy.

Mrs Goodman wants to raise awareness of these facts, and where support can be found, saying: “We’re not the first family to go through this, and we won’t be the last.”

They hope the bake sale will bring the community together and are encouraged by businesses like M&S and Coffee #1 donating baked goods and prizes for the raffle.

poster
Bake sale poster (Supplied)

· The bake sale will run from 11am - 1pm on April 14, with other refreshments and a raffle running alongside. · To find out more about the Bliss Charity visit www.bliss.org.uk