FOR many women turning 40 can be a daunting prospect, but for Penny Tenerife it was a chance to give something back to the Great Western Hospital.

Penny was due to give birth to her second child last October, but in August her health took a turn for the worse and what should have been a joyous occasion quickly became every parent's nightmare.

Having suffered high blood pressure throughout the pregnancy Penny was eventually diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a potentially fatal disorder affecting mothers and babies during pregnancy.

The condition affects between five and eight per cent of pregnancies and is characterised by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine.

Penny was given steroid injections to boost her unborn child's lung growth but Isabella Tenerife had to be delivered two months premature through an emergency caesarean.

Newborn Isabella could not breathe for herself and was taken to the hospital's Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), placed on a ventilator and diagnosed with severe respiratory disease.

Now, several months down the line their baby is doing well and Penny and her husband Michael, who also have a son Daniel, three, celebrated her 40th birthday earlier this month.

And in a selfless act Cartus UK project manager Penny decided she did not want any birthday cards or gifts from her friends and family, instead asking that they donate the money to the unit.

Their generosity brought in £800, which was handed over to staff at the hospital.

She said: "I just felt we needed to put something into the system and to highlight the fact it's so easy to bash the NHS these days.

"The reality is that the people working with patients, the doctors and nurses, do such a tremendous job under what must be such difficult circumstances."

Friends and family members attended the birthday bash at the family's home in Malmesbury, and Penny and Michael used the opportunity to say thank you for all the support they received when Isabella was born.

"Isabella's great and doing really well now. Once she was out of the ventilator and not full of tubes and things, Daniel was amazing with her.

"He knows she had been very sick and he was so gentle - it helped that she bought him a new bike, a bit of bribery can go a long way.

"They go to the same nursery where's he's very protective and very proud telling everyone that she's his little sister."

Fundraising and voluntary services manager at GWH Natalie Prinsloo said: "We would like to thank Penny for her generosity in donating the money to our SCBU.

"With her tremendous help the funds will be used to purchase medical equipment and kit for our special care babies."