My nieces words and why I am raising money for the unit

Dawson-Reid was born at 27 weeks +4 days , due to PPROM (waters breaking at 21 weeks ) on 28th July 2023 weighing 3lbs.

Dawson could not breathe on his own when he was first born as he has chronic lung disease due to him being born so early. There were not enough waters in the womb and he was placed onto a ventilator for the first 12 days of his life. He was then moved onto CPAP for 6 days, then onto high flow oxygen for 27 days. He was then moved onto low flow which he is still on at home.

Dawson spent 71 long days in NICU with a lot of scares and bumps along his journey, his oxygens were changed more than once to find a suitable one for his little body to be able to cope with. He had 2 small brain bleeds and 2 small holes in his heart to also deal with.

We were told when Dawson was first born he may not survive the first 24 hours, the doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to ensure he had the best chance of survival. Without them we would not have our little miracle.

The team didn't just help Dawson, he has 3 older brothers who were so confused about everything that had happened and was happening, the NICU team explained everything in a way they could understand (ages range from 7-3) and to help them not be scared of seeing there little brother.

The whole team were there for the whole family as well as taking excellent care of Dawson, we could not have got through it with out them.

Dawson is now home with his Mummy, Daddy and brother, he is a happy, bubbly and funny baby who is absolutely thriving and loving life.

We will never be able to thank the NICU team enough for what they have done for our family. They are truly remarkable.