Said Joan, of Cobham: “It was a shock to us all, and he was very, very lucky.  He was such a little fighter, it was a tough few months but he has done very well.”

Tai is a first grandchild for Joan and her husband, Bob, and is about to celebrate his 1st Birthday.  He is the son of GaryWaterson and his partner Rose Davis.  He was born at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey on 3 October 2007, where he spent more than four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Once out of an incubator in mid-January 2008 he was transferred to Epsom Hospital as Gary and Rose lived in Hinchley Wood at the time. Epsom Hospital staff laid on a small cake and balloon celebration to mark his 100 days of life and a few weeks later he was allowed home. The family have now moved to Walton.

Joan determined to give a big “Thank You” to NICU and set about organising a fundraising garden party which was held in early August.

She said: “I hold an event every year to raise funds for charity, usually for Cancer Research.  This year I wanted to do this for NICU and once again I was very fortunate to have tremendous support from lots of friends and the family.  We had a tombolastall, bric-a-brac, good quality clothes and all the things you would expect at a fundraising garden event.”

Joan also took £175 at a car boot sale at Apps Court in August to add to the total.

The whole family came up to present £2,222 to NICU Matron Audrey Elmore who said: “This is a very welcome gift, and very much appreciated.  We are currently in the process of upgrading our incubators and this donation will go towards a new incubator.”

Incubators have a life-span of 10-15 years, depending on the model, and cost approximately£14,000.