The new Leicester Children’s Hospital will receive a late Christmas present in the form of two brand-new, lifesaving ventilators after over £80,000 was raised during the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal’s Christmas Campaign.

The campaign to raise £33,000 to purchase one brand new ventilator for the new Leicester Children’s Hospital proved so successful that the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal will now be able to buy two ventilators to support critically ill children at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The new ventilators will treat patients like five-year-old Hope Penney from Loughborough, whose inspiring story became central to the Christmas Campaign.

Hope – born with her left-side organs on her right side of her body – despite needing regular monitoring, is now finally able to enjoy a fairly normal childhood after she received intensive treatment at both Glenfield and Leicester Royal Infirmary. Hope’s heart stopped five times before she received a series of life-saving operations.

Hope’s story inspired many across the county to donate to the campaign. The outstanding total was boosted by a £10,000 donation from the Anand & Sethi Families of Leicester on behalf of their company Anand International Ltd.

Vic Sethi contacted the NHS and made the sizeable gift on behalf of the family and business just before Christmas which led to the campaign’s success.

“We are proud and grateful to the entire NHS for their hard work and for looking after the patients in their care,” says Vic.

“This year, it is our wish to donate £10,000 to Leicester Hospitals Charity on behalf of all of us, our companies, employees and clients.”

Claire Campbell, Head of Fundraising at Leicester Hospitals Charity, who run the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, says the charity has been blown away by the support shown over Christmas.

“We are beyond thrilled that we’ve been able to raise funds for not one, but two ventilators which will help save more children’s lives,” says Claire.

“We were inspired by Hope’s story and it shows that the people of Leicestershire were too, as we saw their generosity grow throughout the Christmas appeal. The donation from Vic Sethi and family on behalf of Anand International was a wonderful surprise Christmas present and we are truly grateful to him and everyone at Anand International for helping us make sure that all children like Hope get the treatment they deserve.”

Anyone wanting to contribute towards the appeal can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.