Helen Anderson
Helen's Supporting the wonderful work of the Neonatal Unit
Fundraising for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Charity
Story
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Baby Dylan was born two weeks early, on 23rd December. His arrival into the world went very smoothly, however within a couple of minutes it was obvious that he was struggling to take enough air into his tiny lungs.
Luckily, we were surrounded in theatre by an amazing team of doctors and nurses. He was very quickly taken down to the Neonatal unit to be assessed. He was given support with his breathing but unfortunately his condition continued to deteriorate. By Christmas Eve he had been put onto a ventilator and was no longer breathing for himself. After extensive testing they had discovered a hole in his lung. We were terrified. He was given some treatment including the introduction of a chest drain, but Dylan’s consultant was confident that ultimately the hole would seal itself. It was now a waiting game.
Waking up on Christmas morning, alone, was not how I’d imagined our first Christmas as a family. As far as we were concerned Christmas was cancelled. However, the Neonatal ward told a different story. I can’t even begin to tell you how it felt arriving onto the ward and seeing the efforts that had been made to bring Christmas magic to the struggling families.
This story has a very happy ending! Within a week his lung had healed, and he was able to come off the ventilator. Although the first few days were a little rocky as he learnt how to breathe on his own, he continued to make great progress. Slowly we were able to start caring for him. I was able to feed him, Drew could change his nappy and we could both finally cuddle him for hours on end. And then, we got to take him home and all our dreams came true.
For the last 9 years we have delivered gifts on Christmas Eve that the nurses put out on cots overnight, ready for Christmas day. We’re having to do things a little differently this year and are raising money to help the staff make Christmas special for the babies and their families, and to offer support for the unit going into 2021.
This is an amazing unit, full of wonderful people and just a little touch of magic. We will forever be in their debt.
Sending lots of Christmas magic from my family to yours. Merry Christmas xx