One of those children was baby Griffin, who in May 2014 was born 12 weeks premature. After six weeks at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Royal North Shore hospital, and with the help of numerous Humpty-donated pieces of equipment, he was finally well enough to be taken home.

"It was awful. I was absolutely petrified. When you're in intensive care it's scary enough but when it's for little babies and there are alarms and monitors ... it's scary," said Catherine Vautier, whose son Griffin is now a healthy toddler.

"It was exciting bringing him home but it was also so hard and scary. He spent weeks being connected to monitors and now to be home ... the day they took him off the machine I was freaking out."

Now, Catherine can't stress enough how important it is to get behind the charity that saved her son's life.

"When you have baby and it isn't healthy ... your world shatters. You just expect there will be equipment in the hospital to fix everything, but there isn't," she said.

"People don't understand the impact it has on these babies. Griffin wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Humpty."

Humpty Dumpty helps sick children up to age 16 and relies on donors to buy pieces of life-saving equipment that are delivered to the hospitals that request them via 'wish lists'.

In 2015, the charity provided 412 new pieces of equipment to hospitals around the country.

On Sunday, May 29, Humpty Dumpty hosts the Balmoral Burn, the 420m race straight up the notoriously steep Awaba Street in Mosman.

About 8000 people are expected to run in 2016, which is enough to tick a significant amount of items off wish lists all over the country. Last year's event raised $2.5 million.

"They provide the incubators that they live in, and all the machines that keep their hearts beating and their lungs able to breathe, and the breast pumps that the mums pump the milk ... If it wasn't for Humpty there would be none of that," said Catherine.

The Balmoral Burn is on May 29. To register as an individual, a team or a corporate sponsor, go to humpty.com.au