Rebekah Edmondson
Team Baby Wolf - Sven (Mark) & Becci in the 2015 Brighton Half Marathon
Fundraising for Rockinghorse Children's Charity
Story
On 31st May 2013, little Wilf was born a staggering 14 weeks early. He weighed 1lb 7oz and could fit in the palm of your hand. As the doctors desperately tried to safely deliver his tiny body, there was no gasp for breath, no welcome cry that told you everything is normal. That your baby is safe. Instead there was a deafening silence whilst the neonatal team quietly worked on this tiny little boy, trying to bring him to life.
We didn't hold him. We didn't even see him. He was rushed away to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit on the 14th floor of Sussex County Hospital. Only one floor up from the labour ward, but a million miles away from the newborn joy that most parents were experiencing.
What followed was 4 gruelling months, where every day was a fight for survival. As we sat by watching him, our tiny boy, we wondered each day whether he would make it to tomorrow. But every day he did. He astounded us again and again with his fortitude and resilience. Jaundice. Pneumonia twice. Reflux. Chronic Lung Disease. He shouldn't have lived. But he did.
Now over a year down the line, he is doing marvellously. He is such a determined and happy little boy, and we are so proud of him.
Whilst Wilf is certainly a fighter, we know that he simply wouldn't be here without the amazing care and support that he received in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit. The doctors and nurses were not only extremely good at their jobs, they were also a fantastic support to us as parents, who were scared and confused. We were made to feel at home (important as we spent over four months at his cotside) and were involved in his day-to-day care as much as possible. The nurses helped Becci get to grips with expressing milk and then finally, when possible, feeding and bathing an impossibly small baby. The doctors kept us informed, stopped us from breaking down, and gave Wilf the most dedicated and unwavering care you can imagine.
We are so grateful for everything, but most of all for getting our baby boy home to us and making our family complete. Without TMBU we know our hearts and lives would have been broken irrevocably.
We run this half marathon in unending gratitude to them, and for all the families who are going through the same journey. Please make a donation to Rockinghorse to speed their little babies home.
We didn't hold him. We didn't even see him. He was rushed away to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit on the 14th floor of Sussex County Hospital. Only one floor up from the labour ward, but a million miles away from the newborn joy that most parents were experiencing.
What followed was 4 gruelling months, where every day was a fight for survival. As we sat by watching him, our tiny boy, we wondered each day whether he would make it to tomorrow. But every day he did. He astounded us again and again with his fortitude and resilience. Jaundice. Pneumonia twice. Reflux. Chronic Lung Disease. He shouldn't have lived. But he did.
Now over a year down the line, he is doing marvellously. He is such a determined and happy little boy, and we are so proud of him.
Whilst Wilf is certainly a fighter, we know that he simply wouldn't be here without the amazing care and support that he received in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit. The doctors and nurses were not only extremely good at their jobs, they were also a fantastic support to us as parents, who were scared and confused. We were made to feel at home (important as we spent over four months at his cotside) and were involved in his day-to-day care as much as possible. The nurses helped Becci get to grips with expressing milk and then finally, when possible, feeding and bathing an impossibly small baby. The doctors kept us informed, stopped us from breaking down, and gave Wilf the most dedicated and unwavering care you can imagine.
We are so grateful for everything, but most of all for getting our baby boy home to us and making our family complete. Without TMBU we know our hearts and lives would have been broken irrevocably.
We run this half marathon in unending gratitude to them, and for all the families who are going through the same journey. Please make a donation to Rockinghorse to speed their little babies home.