Celebrating our little miracles on World Prematurity Day
Today we are marking World Prematurity Day at CTM by catch up with some of our little preemies to see how they are doing now.
First for today are twins Isobel and Oliver who were born eight weeks early in September last year. Mum Sara Riley from Bridgend explains:
“The twins were delivered early at a Cardiff Hospital, due to a complication with the growth of Isobel. We spent a week in Singleton then three weeks at Princess of Wales Hospital. It was really hard going on us as a family dealing with Covid restrictions and visiting because our other children couldn’t come into the Hospital.
“Oliver is now thriving and is a busy 1 year old. Isobel is also doing well however she was diagnosed with cancer back in February and is receiving on going treatment.
“Our older daughter Kenna, who is two today, was also born early, at 37 weeks, but was fortunate enough to not need any support from the wonderful staff in the special care baby unit at Princess of Wales.”
As a continue to celebrate World Prematurity Day, here is the story of little Evie who was born four weeks early, two years ago!
Ceri Mirosevic tells the story of her daughter’s early arrival.
“Evie was born at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. I had been admitted into Princess of Wales Hospital originally this was the only hospital with spaces for me to be transferred to.
“I live in Austria currently and was on holiday visiting my Mum in Porthcawl. My husband was hiking in Scotland when it happened!
“Evie was born weighing 890g and needed full intubation to help her breathe for the first week. She had a small valve in her heart that didn't close. She needed 3 blood transfusions and had many brain scans but thankfully no bleeds.
“She was in hospital for 97 days in total. Half the time in NICU Portsmouth and then she was transferred by helicopter back to SCBU in Bridgend for the rest of the time. She was discharged on her due date and on World Prematurity Day 2019.
“It was very difficult and extremely emotional time. Thankfully Evie made constant progress during her time and this kept us going strong. As parents it was nice to be surrounded by such caring doctors and nurses constantly who were always there for questions and being positive. The nurses were also great at involving us as much as possible, such as changing nappies, baths and hugging her. It was also nice in the hospital to meet and talk to the other parents going through the same thing.
“We took Evie home on her due date so in a sense I was thinking I brought her home as I would have done so if she hadn't been premature. By then she was also the size of an average newborn. We were so happy to have her home where she belonged, it was the best feeling in the world. I think it helped that I had a baby two years previous so I wasn't clueless. I was lucky to spend a couple of nights with her in a special room in SCBU as a pre-run to taking her home which was super helpful as I could experience her "noises" in the night with the comfort that the nurses were nearby if I was scared about something.
“Evie is doing better than we could have imagined. She is a happy healthy girl, developing just as she should. We are beyond thankful. She loves getting up to mischief with her big brother, singing and is now chattering all the time. The valve in her heart closed by itself after about 6-9 months.
“I literally think of the team at SCBU on a daily basis. They were the kindest bunch of nurses and doctors and provided such amazing care of Evie. I spent a lot of time talking with them and they were all so caring and friendly. I was sad not to see them anymore after we were discharged! We will be forever thankful.
“To other parents going through a similar experience I would say to trust in the doctors and nurses with all their experience with premature babies as they will do everything they can to look after your baby. Although the babies look so tiny they are stronger than you think. Don't stress about "milestones" or comparing them to your other babies or to friends with babies the same age.”