Brixton family raise £47K for children’s hospital which cared for their son before he passed away

By Claudia Lee

A Brixton family have raised more than £47,000 to thank a children’s hospital which cared for their son, who passed away in 2020 aged just 37 days.

Parents Anita-Mai Goulding Barette and Nick Barette have given thanks to staff at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, who cared for their son, Dylan, on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

As a way of marking Dylan’s life, his godfather, Stewart Rae, came up with the idea of an annual cycle ride which raises vital funds for Evelina London’s NICU. 

This year’s cycle covered 54 miles and ended at Brockwell Park, where they celebrated around a tree which was planted for Dylan.

Dylan’s father, Nick, 36, said: “The ride was amazing. My body still hurts a little. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would raise this much money over the two events.”

Dylan was born at St Thomas’ Hospital on November 18, 2020, with multiple congenital health conditions.

Although staff worked around the clock caring for Dylan, he tragically passed away on Christmas Eve.

Anita-Mai, 34, said: “We were very lucky that Evelina London gave us the 37 days we did spend with our son and our hope is that other babies who are like Dylan get even more time than that, and hopefully go on to live long, beautiful lives with their families.”

Although this year’s event has only just finished, Anita-Mai, Nick and Stewart are already looking to make the next ‘We Ride for Dylan’ even bigger.

Further details on how their fundraising supports Evelina London’s NICU can be found at the Dylan’s Pals website .

To donate to this year’s ‘We Ride for Dylan’ fundraiser, visit JustGiving.

Pictured top: Anita-Mai and Nick with Dylan (Picture: Evelina London Children’s Hospital)