I’ve chosen to fundraise for Bliss because I want to make a real difference to the 95,000 babies born premature or sick every year. Every donation that’s made to this page brings Bliss closer to ensuring that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life. Bliss does that by supporting parents to care for their babies, campaigning for better neonatal care and enabling life-changing research.

My son was born 14th April 2018 and due to complications in labour, he required a 13 day stay in the NICU. Due to complications in labour, Teddy required a 13 day stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Ashford. Teddy was stuck for 6 minutes, was born with no heart rate and a massive sub-galeal haemorrhage which is a bleed between the skull and scalp. He had some bleeding on the brain but we’re not sure how big it was as doctors we unable to scan him for the first few days because of how critical his condition was. His sub-galeal bleed was so big he needed 8 blood transfusions. He was ventilated for 6 days, was on multiple medications, needed to be cooled for 72 hours to prevent brain damage, needed to be tube fed and had many lines going into him at different parts of his body. When we first spoke with the consultant we was told there was a 40% chance Teddy would not make it and we needed to take each hour as it came.

When Teddy was 12 days old, me and Tristam needed to spend 1 night at the hospital with him before discharge. Thanks to Bliss, we were provided with a en-suite bedroom which didn’t feel hospital like at all. We had access to a fully equipped kitchen, a quiet lounge for us and our extended family to use and they also provide support to families both emotionally and financially. 

When I went into labour, I had so many exciting thoughts go through my head. I was excited to hold my baby, dress him, feed him, smell him. I didn't expect to wait 7 days to hold my baby. 7 days to dress him. I didn't hear him make a sound until he was taken off his ventilation. We'd spend hours sat by his incubator, trying to understand what every line was for, what each medication did, trying to understand the readings on his screen. My first experience of being a mother was staring at monitors instead of my baby, having panic set in when an alarm started beeping and feeling relief when it's not your baby, but then the feeling of guilt when you realise it's someone elses baby that is struggling to keep their sats at a normal level. 

Without Bliss, we wouldn't have had somewhere peaceful to go and sit when things got too much. We wouldn't have had a cosy bedroom to sleep in which was made to feel as homely as possible to take away that hospital feel. 

Without Bliss and the NICU, my son probably wouldn't be here today. I feel like I need to give something back to this charity. Please, please help. Whether it's donating £1 or sharing this on social media. Lets make a difference.