Father of premature baby to raise money for hospital

4:44pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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THE father of a little girl who defied the odds to survive being born 15 weeks prematurely is taking on a daunting underwater challenge to raise money for the hospital which helped her win her fight for life.

Laila Feetenby will this week celebrate a second birthday her parents Lee and Toni feared she would never see after she came into the world weighing just 1lb 13oz - barely the size of her mum's hand.

Now Lee, of Rawcliffe, York, Laila's godfather Joni Garnett and their friend, Barry Grier, hope to become only the second-ever team to dive to the depths of the highest lakes in England, Scotland and Wales - all in just 24 hours.

The money raised from next month's Three Lakes Challenge will help the special care baby unit at York Hospital, where Laila was treated in the weeks after her birth.

Lee, Joni and Barry will begin by tackling Loch Coire An Lochan in the Cairngorms, with the clock starting to tick when they start a 13km trek to the lake - weighed down with backpacks containing 30kg of equipment - on June 27.

To stay on schedule, within seven hours they must be heading to Red Tarn, in the Lake District of England, before travelling overnight to their final destination, Snowdonia's Ffynnon Lloer, and completing their three-dive mission by 3pm on June 28.

The feat has only been achieved once before - by ex-Royal Marine Monty Halls and his colleague Andy Torbert last year - and will test the endurance of the three members of the Cormorant Divers club to the limit.

But Lee, 27, says: "It will all be worth it because the hospital is a cause very close to our hearts.

"We've so much praise for the staff there and want to do what we can to give something back after everything they did for Laila. She's just like any other happy two-year-old now and you'd never guess what she'd been through - she's such a fighter. What we're doing is something a bit different which will hopefully help the people at the hospital keep doing the great work they do."

Joni, 28, of Rawcliffe, who runs Poppleton roofing firm Roofs Above, where Lee also works, said: "It's daunting, but it's not meant to be easy - it's called a challenge for a reason. Monty and Andy managed it in about 23 hours, so they've proved it can be done and they've encouraged us to go for it. The great thing about diving is that you never know what you're going to see - you can come across anything. Although it'll be hard, it'll also be exciting, a bit of a laugh, and help a very good cause."

To sponsor the group, send cheques made payable to York Special Care Baby Unit Support Group to Lee Feetenby at 234 Shipton Road, York, YO30 5WL.