Story
As most of you know we lost our baby boy Soren in 2015. At the time I was working as a student nurse and was on the ward when my waters went at 6 months pregnant. In an instant I went from working on a ward to being admitted as a patient, unaware of the life changing events that were about to unfold. What I was experiencing was PPROM- premature rupture of membranes, whereby the amniotic membranes rupture before 37 weeks.
With the amazing support of family and friends, helping to look after our other son Ephram, I spent the next 7 days on bed rest until I finally went into labour. Soren William Stone was born on the 8th of July. Once he was born Soren was immediately whisked away to the neonatal unit in order for them to prepare him to be transferred to a hospital more equipped to look after his level of prematurity. For the next few hours we sat by his cot side holding his tiny hand. The doctors did everything they could, but it soon became clear that transporting him would no longer be possible. The highest level of oxygen was no longer sufficient to keep him fighting and at this point we had to accept that we would have to say goodbye. The incubator was opened and Soren was placed in my arms for one final hold and a kiss on his tiny forehead. I then passed him over to his daddy who held him in his arms whilst the oxygen was taken away and we watched his little life slip away.
Planing a funeral for your child is the hardest thing Iv ever done. This is the poem I wrote to be read aloud at the service:
Fleeting showers on a summers day, A wave that laps the lonesome bay, On Autumn eve long shadows cast, A beauty in that which cannot last.
Yet where a stormy cloud may pass, Or dewdrops dry on fresh sprung grass, Your life afore farwell you bade, Leaves light in our hearts that will never fade.
Whispered words of unmade plans, The touch of tiny fragile hands, A final kiss rests on your brow, Not yet the end but goodbye for now.
A hope, a strength we never knew, A gift you gave to us from you, Though hours you lived, Your little light, Remains forever burning bright.
Myself and my friend Sharon King are taking part in a ghost hunt and lone vigil at Cressing Temple barns on the 9th of February.
UCLH have a amazing research project which plans to develop a way to heal the amniotic membranes after they rupture. Money raised will go towards this valuable project; in memory of all babies born too soon due to PPROM.
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Thank you for your support