When your baby is whisked away to the Neonatal Unit that moment takes your breath away. It's truly heart-wrenching and you want to spend every moment with them. Every day of a Neonatal Unit admission is a juggle, the tug of war between hospital life and regular life. Tiny Sparks provide essential support through our programs to ensure families have the best start possible. Your generous contribution enables us to support more of the 4,000 West Australian families impacted by the Neonatal Unit each year.

On a personal note Tiny Sparks were a great source of comfort, advice & hope when our son Sullivan was born premature at 33 weeks, weighing only 1.25kg on August 7th 2020. His first 2 weeks were spent in the NICU at King Eddie’s & once he weighed the prerequisite 1.5kg he was transferred to the NICU at our local hospital Joondalup Health Campus for a further 2 weeks to continue to grow, gain weight, learn to breastfeed & regulate his temperature & other vitals.

Tiny Sparks were regular visitors in the NICU which was a welcome distraction. As Sully was born in August 2020 during the height of Covid, only parents were allowed visit the NICU. As we had Sully’s 3.5 year old sister Quinn at home at the time, my husband Matt mainly stayed with her to provide some stability and routine because her little life had also been turned upside down in those uncertain & stressful times. I spent my days driving into Subi to sit by Sully’s incubator, hold him close when permitted & pump enough milk to leave for him every night. To have NICU mums who volunteer for Tiny Sparks come to visit and marvel at my miracle baby was such a lovely, reassuring experience because they had walked, lived and breathed the NICU journey that nothing and no one can prepare you for until you and your family have to live it.

I would leave my tiny baby in his incubator every night and head home while my every natural maternal instinct was urging me to stay with my son 24/7. However to come in the next morning and see that Tiny Sparks had left a gift bag with practical items for me such as a cooler bag for transporting EBM, a drink bottle to remind me to keep hydrated, hand cream for my chafed hands from scrubbing and sanitising my hands 50+ times a day before touching my delicate newborn, or a lovely message of hope or a hand made prem outfit gave me great comfort that a mumma who knew what we were going through had been there in my absence to watch over my Sully.

Tiny Sparks services go beyond the NICU stay; they are an amazing resource for transitioning to home life, they provide links to vital services and resources that can assist with high risk pregnancies, bed rest, health services for once your baby is discharged, they run developmental play group, they offer peer to peer support and run workshops around topics specific to premature babies and the future health problems and delays they may face for years beyond birth.

I am participating in this 10 year celebration zip line fundraiser as a way to thank Tiny Sparks for all they did for Sully & our little family and for all the families they continue to assist, guide and reassure.

I also decided to sign up to honour the bravery and strength these miracle prem babies show. My son Sullivan is now a healthy, thriving, cheeky 3 year old boy whose resilience and strong character that he built from being a tiny 33 weeker continues to shine through today. He fears nothing and powers through each day with strength and determination.

I will be climbing Matagarup Bridge and Zip lining down as the bridge lights up purple in recognition of the critical issue of preterm birth, on Friday 17th November which is World Prematurity Day!

If you are able, please donate to this beautiful, worthwhile charity Tiny Sparks that goes above and beyond to help our youngest, smallest and sickest babies and their families.