Thompson Financing are proud supporters of the Mercy Health Foundation
On Father’s Day, 2019, my world changed forever. My second son, Harvey, was born in a hurry, 3 months premature and very ill. It’s world-shaking news for any parent, and I can tell you, it is a feeling like you can never imagine – nor do you want to. With his birth began a harrowing 88 days in hospital for our little fella, and lots of sleepless nights for us as parents.
This story has a happy ending, as Harvey is now a very happy and healthy kid and always smiling, and we owe that to the doctors, nurses and all the staff at the hospitals he attended during those first few months of his life. But in particular at the Mercy Hospital for Women, where Harvey was born, and where he lived for the first 35 odd days of his life, the most critical. The care and support they gave both my wife and our child was unparalleled, and I don’t think words can express how grateful we are for everything they did for our family.
For a long time now, giving back has been a very important part of Thompson Financing. For me personally, I have always felt that those fortunate enough to be able to give back should, and it’s a value I’ve always tried to instil in my staff and in the companies I’ve run. Over the years, Oak alone has raised and donated well in excess of $300,000 to various charities and causes, including the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Bayley House, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, CEO Sleep Out and many others. This year, however, I wanted to help support a cause that is extremely personal to me, because they helped save my son’s life and those of so many others.
Harvey at the Mercy in 2019
A happy ending
I’m proud to be able to officially announce Oak as a supporter of the Mercy Health Foundation.
Mercy Health Foundation supports Mercy Health by advancing care and improving life outcomes for people in need. Since it was established in 2006, Mercy Health Foundation has worked closely with our many varied donors, including large philanthropic and family donors, corporate partners, event participants, community fundraisers and Mercy Health staff.
Over the course of this year we will be aiming to purchase at least 2 new Neonatal Ventilators for the Mercy Hospital’s NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). For many children these machines can be the difference between life and death, providing ventilatory support to preterm and critically ill infants suffering from respiratory failure. As with most medical apparatus they don’t come cheap, starting at around $55,000 each, though as a father I can tell you there is no value you could place on these that wouldn’t be worth the money to a parent whose infant child requires one to breathe.
To find out more about the Mercy Health Foundation, visit their website here.
**UPDATE**
As of October we have donated another $25,000 to the Mercy. Unfortunately, because of the ongoing pandemic and the need to keep hospitals to necessary visitors only, we have yet to have the chance to visit the NICU to see the new ventilators our donations have bought. We hope to be able to visit when we round out our original $100,000 pledge in our final donation for the year in December.
**UPDATE**
On December 22, in the holiday spirit, we donated the final $25,000 to the Mercy Hospital, bringing our total donation for the year to $100,000. This will allow them to purchase 2 brand new neo-natal specialised ventilators and a new neo-natal defibrillator, helping save the lives and heartbreak of many future children and their parents.
By Bruce Thompson