A WORCESTER couple have been overwhelmed by the response to a fund-raising effort they launched to raise money for a charity that helped their seriously ill baby.

Chris and Lorna Wyse were so grateful for the care and treatment their daughter Jovie received at Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham they set themselves the target of a £5,000 thank you. However, this now looks likely to reach £6,000 or more.

Mr Wyse, who works in the advertising department of your Worcester News, said: “We have been bowled over by everyone’s generosity. We can’t thank them enough.”

Jovie Wyse was born with a rare and dangerous condition called congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, also known as ‘Ondine curse’. It affects the central nervous system and prevented Jovie from breathing when asleep. She had to undergo a tracheoctomy and required 24-hour ventilation.

Jovie spent her first two weeks at Worcestershire Royal Hospital before being moved to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. With Mr Wyse working full time in Worcester and his wife unable to drive they were in an almost impossible situation – until they were told about Ronald McDonald House, a free apartment complex attached to the hospital for parents of babies receiving treatment.

After six months in hospital, Jovie was allowed home just before Christmas and can be taken off her ventilator for several hours a day Initially the Wyses organised an auction and raffle which raised £2,700, but then Nigel Wilson, group advertising manager of Newsquest (Worcester) Ltd, won a ballot to take part in the National Lottery Olympic Park Run and raised £2,200 for the charity, while £1,000 is coming from other sources.