Chance to spring clean and raise funds for Starship renovation

JOHN SELKIRK

UPGRADE NEEDED: Christchurch mother Annie Haywood with 10-month-old Riley have been in Starship Children's Hospital this week to check Riley's dialysis is working.

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New Zealanders are being asked to clean up and sell off their unwanted goods for Starship Children's Hospital.

The Starship Spring Clean involves people selling their unwanted goods on Trade Me and pledging all or part of the proceeds to Starship Hospital in Auckland.

People can also bid on goods and experiences donated by celebrities, such as a walk-on part in Shortland Street.

Christchurch musician Tiki Taane has given an autographed guitar while Otago rugby player Josh Kronfeld gave a personal sketch.

Funds raised will go toward a major rebuild of the Level 6 neurological and medical specialty wards.

Each year, more than 2000 young patients are admitted to Level 6. More than 100 of them stay for six months or more and over three-quarters are from outside Auckland.

Christchurch boy Riley Haywood has been in Starship for the past few days to check his dialysis is working.

The 10-month-old was diagnosed in-utero with kidney problems and was sent to the hospital soon after birth for further tests.

Doctors discovered that Riley's kidneys barely functioned and it was not long before he went into chronic renal failure.

Riley's mother, Annie Haywood, said the hospital and its doctors were great, but the facilities could be better.

The fundraiser would help pay for single rooms, which would be safer for Riley, who was prone to infection. It would also mean she could sleep on a bed beside him at night rather than on a mattress on the floor.

Riley needed a kidney transplant and doctors hoped to find him one within the next year, Haywood said.

Until he had that, he would not learn to crawl, walk or eat.

The fundraiser runs through September at www.trademe.co.nz/starship. People can give $20 by dialling 0900 STARSHIP or text STAR to 469 to give $3.

- © Fairfax NZ News