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NICU incubators ready to take on Mighty Trek Challenge

By Grace Carter

Sep 28, 2025

The Sutherland family pushing a NICU incubator being used for the Mighty Trek Challenge. Photo by Megan Fisher

A neonatal intensive care unit incubator is often the difference between life and death for premature babies.

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Now, two of the life-saving machines have been repurposed to raise money to save even more.

Life’s Little Treasures Foundation’s inaugural Mighty Trek Challenge will see premmie families, hospital staff, friends, supporters and everyday Australians pushing a NICU incubator 900km in 20 locations on the route from Sydney to Melbourne.

The challenge adds to its annual Walk for Prems fundraising event, and celebrates LLTF’s 20th anniversary of providing support, information and connection to families of sick and premature babies.

Shepparton’s Sutherland family have experienced first hand the support LLTF offers, after their twins Lila and Hudson’s very early and spontaneous births at 24 weeks.

After complications, Hudson unfortunately passed away, and Lila spent 119 days in the NICU.

Her father, Stuart Sutherland, said it was difficult to be at the hospital without her brother there, but LLTF helped out and supported him and his wife, Tori, through the challenging journey.

“The information and support from those guys was phenomenal because we'd obviously never dealt with that,” Mr Sutherland said.

“They just made it that little bit easier.”

The modified incubator is push-ready. Photo by Megan Fisher

LLTF chief executive Felicia Welstead said the trek challenge was about raising awareness about what families with premature babies, such as the Sutherlands, endured, and that LLTF hoped to raise $1 million to continue and expand on the work it did.

“Most of my team have the lived experience of having a premature or sick baby, so they come from a place of knowing and can really comfort families by sharing their stories,” she said.

“We work with 152 hospitals around Australia to make sure parents have the information they need, as well as services and products to get them through the journey.”

The two push-ready incubators modified by Shepparton-based J. Furphy & Sons were unveiled, and named Hope and Sunny, at Baby Bunting in Shepparton on Tuesday, September 23.