When our gorgeous son Jamie was born 4 and a half weeks early by emergency C section, weighing 4lb 1oz, he spent 17 days in the Special Care Baby Unit at the QE hospital before coming home.

This was a very traumatic time for us and an experience that so many new parents face without any preparation. Thankfully Jamie, although small, was a tough cookie and grew stronger and bigger every day, resulting in a relatively short stay (although at the time, it felt like forever for us).

SCBU is a scary place and an experience which is difficult to explain as there are so many worries, fears and emotions which you don't expect. We are forever grateful to the staff at the QE for looking after our precious boy.

I wanted to raise awareness of the emotional rollercoaster that ensues when you have a "preemie". The fear, uncertainty, guilt, inability to hold your new baby and confusion that you feel when in SCBU is indescribable and you really have to take it one day at a time.

One of the hardest things I found was having to walk out of the hospital each day knowing Jamie was still in there.

The staff were amazing and explained what they were doing, what we could and couldn't do, were incredibly patient and answered ALL of our questions. They showed so much love, care and support for all of us, but especially "Baby Jay" as he was affectionately known by some of them.

The one feeling that never seemed to leave me was the trepidation I felt every time I entered the unit, as you have no idea what to expect when you walk through the doors but the staff were always there to make you smile, laugh and be a shoulder to cry on when necessary.

There are many events that happened in SCBU that I will NEVER forget, including the day I was buzzed in to the unit, walked down the corridor and turned the corner to find a few of the staff waiting for me with huge smiles on their faces. They then moved aside and Jamie's incubator was behind them in the corridor, empty. I stopped in my tracks and they smiled "yes, after 8 days, he is out of the incubator and in a normal hospital baby cot". I felt really scared, confused and began shaking so I walked slowly towards the room and peeped inside to find my gorgeous baby out in the open, ready for cuddles.

After all of the care and support we received I was determined to do what I could to help other families who are facing the same situation so I decided to do the Great North Run last year. I am not a runner and really struggled through minimal training but completed it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

THIS YEAR, I have persuaded my husband to join me. Our aim is to complete this run together for all of the little ones, and their families that find themselves in a Special Care Baby Unit. Our motivation to not give up is the fight these little babies face every second of every day, from breathing on their own, having some milk drip fed through their nose, then gravity feeding....the list goes on....

The whole department does EVERYTHING they can to make it just that little bit easier when you are there (all day, every day) and raising money that will help provide for this department is something we are very passionate about.

We can't quite believe Jamie is now 5 and such an amazing, loving, hilarious, strong, independent and caring "big boy". I am so proud of the fight this little guy had in him and love watching him grow and develop into such an amazing human being, every single day.

All our love

Kay, Stephen and Jamie xxx

Please add my name (Kay Dixon - SCBU) in the reference when donating so the money goes to the correct department.

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