Peter McFerran Incubator Appeal

In memory of RAF senior aircraftsman Peter McFerran, who was tragically killed on the 17th July 2007 by an insurgent rocket attack whilst serving with the RAF in Iraq, The Chronicle newspapers have launched an appeal to raise £15,000 for a special incubator needed for the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit.

Peter McFerran weighed just 4lb 9oz when he was born eight weeks premature at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Not breathing for himself or able to feed due to un undeveloped digestive tract , he had to be placed in an incubator attached to minitors for a fortnight in the Special Care Baby Unit.

His worried parents were told by the doctors that the first three days were crucial to his survival. Mrs McFerran spent around a week in hospital herself after the birth so she could be close to her son, but then returned home to be with her daughter and visited Peter several times a day. Such is the level of care by the Hospital staff that they took a photograph of her newborn straight away so she could keep it with her when she was away from him.

To thank them for what they did for Peter, his family made a donation to the unit that both saved his life and gave them 24 precious years with their son. In recognition, the Flintshire Chronicle are used this donation as the start of an appeal to raise £15,000 to buy an incubator in Peter's memory and money raised as a result of teams entering the Chester Dragon Boat Festival this year will also be used in support of the appeal.

Around 49,000 premature babies in the UK are born each year with sadly, more than 25 of those dying each week due to complications arising from their birth. Despite this, progress is being made and we cannot understate the need for more premature baby incubation units at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit, nor express just how important your involvement in entering teams to support us in this year's Chester Charity Dragon Boat Festival.