Dad of "Warrior Princess" Raises £12,000 for Lifesaving Hospital

A DAD-OF-TWO is celebrating after raising more than £12,000 to say ‘thank you’ to the hospital that saved his daughter’s life.

Craig Basnett and a group of friends cycled a staggering 879 miles between nine different children’s hospitals, ending their journey at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where his “warrior princess” Xanthie’s life was saved.

Craig and wife Jodie’s daughter Xanthie had a stroke in the womb before she was born – meaning from a young age she’s had several major surgeries, with potentially more needed in the future. The funds the group raised will be donated to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity, which funds treatment, research and care projects at the Oxford Road-based hospital.

Jodie Basnett with a tiny baby Xanthie shortly after she was born

Jodie, aged 30, said: “Xanthie is our warrior princess. She’s been in and out of hospital so many times but she takes it all in her stride.

“It was actually during one of her operations that Craig came up with the idea of doing the cycle ride. He’s a bit impulsive like that and likes a challenge.

“After everything that has happened with Xanthie we knew we wanted to do something to say thank you to everyone who has helped her. They’ve saved her life and it’s thanks to them we have a gorgeous little girl with us today. We can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done and there just aren’t any words to say how truly grateful we are to the hospital.”

Jodie and Craig, who are also parents to eight-year-old Mason, say the pregnancy was completely normal. But when Jodie went into labour, Xanthie was stuck in the birth canal for longer than expected.

Mason kissing Jodie's belly when she was pregnant with Xanthie

“When she eventually came out we noticed straight away there was some swelling on her head,” explained Craig. “Her head had made it difficult for her to get out, so that was why she was struggling.

“She was taken for a scan and that confirmed she had hydrocephalus – a build up of fluid on the brain.

“The doctors explained she’d need emergency surgery to relieve the pressure so she’d have to be transferred from our local hospital to Saint Mary’s Hospital straight away.

“We suddenly went from expecting a full-term healthy baby to what was quite a rough time for the pair of us.”

The initial surgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital helped drain fluid from Xanthie’s brain but another surgery was needed three weeks later at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to fit a shunt. In cases like Xanthie’s, a shunt is fitted to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain to another part of the body, such as the abdomen, where it can be more easily absorbed.

Xanthie Basnett in her hospital bed at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital

Craig, aged 31, said: “She’s now had four shunts in total, with the last one being about 12 months ago. An MRI has shown it was most likely caused by a stroke she had in the womb between 20 and 40 weeks, but unfortunately it was just never picked up on the scans. Usually a baby having a stroke is caused by some sort of trauma like the mum being in a car accident, but nothing like that ever happened. It’ll just be one of those things we don’t understand.

“Despite everything she’s been through, Xanthie is so resilient and bubbly. She also has cerebral palsy on her right side and was also recently diagnosed with epilepsy, but she gets on with her physio and treatments and never complains.

“She’s so inquisitive and funny. She turned four in June (2022) and she’s becoming such a little character. She’s excited to start school in September as she is always interested in learning new things. She loves Peppa Pig, Mr Tumble and Paw Patrol and really gets on well with her big brother.”

Xanthie’s resilience and determination helped fuel Craig’s enthusiasm for the cycle ride to raise funds for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity. The event saw Craig and his pals cycle from children’s hospitals in Edinburgh to Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. His cycling companions for the entire route were Luke Wallace, Niall Collins and Lee Pennington, with Tim Whittaker joining for a portion of the way.

Outside Leeds Children's Hospital - L-R Craig, Niall, Luke, Lee and Tim

Speaking from the family home in Royton, Oldham, Jodie said: “Craig’s original target was £5,000 but they hit that as they were cycling south of Glasgow!

“I’m so proud of Craig for what he has achieved and we’re so lucky to have Xanthie and Mason in our lives. Craig has been my rock throughout it all. When everything happened with Xanthie I suffered from PTSD. It’s so hard seeing your child go through something like that, but Craig has been so supportive of the whole family and then to do the cycle ride on top of everything else was just…there are no words.”

The Basnett family at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital after the challenge

Craig added: “It was tough going. Most of my practice cycles had been about 30 miles so to do 100 miles straight off was something else.

“I’m so glad I had the lads with me to keep me going – when one of us was struggling the others would be encouraging. It was so much easier being able to do the challenge as a team.

“On the last day we arrived at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Jodie was stood there waiting with our family and friends wearing Charity T-shirts and all waving balloons and shouting to us. It was just incredible. That welcome back was very humbling.”

Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity supports projects which help make what can be a very difficult time in hospital easier for young patients and their families. This can include providing state-of-the-art and specialised equipment, fundraising research to better understand children’s illnesses and supporting projects that help create a more child-friendly environment.

Georgia Sleigh, one of the Charity’s Relationship Officers, said: “Craig and Jodie have been through so much, and have their hands full raising two children, but still found it in their hearts to give up their time to fundraise for our Charity.

“We’re overwhelmed at how well the challenge went and we’re so grateful to everyone who donated and made the final amount of £12,135.24 possible.

“I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Craig and his friends for taking on the challenge and wish Xanthie all the best with her future hospital appointments.”

If you’d like to support Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity please complete our Donation Form.