23rd April 2019

Charity Auction to Help Save Little Lives

The stress and emotional strain of having a premature baby in hospital is something television sports presenter Sam Squiers knows too well.

Having dealt with the possibility of losing her daughter Immi, born at 32 weeks at the Mater Mothers’ Hospital in Brisbane, and weighing only 1.3kg, Squiers is now doing everything she can to help the tiniest of patients.

With her bubbly 21-month-old daughter by her side, Squiers, an ambassador for House for Life, recently met volunteer tradies and suppliers at a newly built Gold Coast home that’s set to go to auction to raise funds for the neonatal critical care unit (NCCU) at the Mater Mothers’ Hospital.

The four-bedroom custom-built house by Plantation Homes is at The Surrounds, Helensvale, and will go to auction on September 8.

Squiers said Immi was confronted with several health issues and spent seven weeks at the Mater’s NCCU and continued with monthly hospital stays for the first five months of her life. With her daughter receiving exceptional care at the Mater, Squiers said she decided to be involved in the House of Life Project.

“To this day, I am just so grateful that we had Immi at the Mater Hospital. The care we received and the resources that were available meant that Immi received the best care in the country and I will always be just so grateful and feel so lucky that she was there,” Squiers said.

“I don’t think anything can prepare you for having a premature baby. You can feel quite helpless when you’re forced to watch your baby and feel like there’s nothing you can do, but there was comfort in knowing that Immi was receiving the best care possible.

This House for Life marks the eighth year Plantation Homes has built and auctioned a home with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to Mater Little Miracles, and the inaugural year partnering with Villawood Properties, who donated the land.

The home, with Hamptons-inspired architecture, features an extravagant master bedroom with ensuite and two dressing rooms, a spacious kitchen with walk-in butler’s pantry, five living areas and a pool.

Visit houseforlife.com.au for more information