Neonatal Unit in Basingstoke

Hi, my name is Ella and I am fundraising for the amazing Neonatal Unit in Basingstoke to show our gratitude towards all staff who looked after our baby that was born 11 weeks premature.

On the 13th of February, I was admitted to the Basingstoke Hospital with suspicions that my waters have raptured at 29 weeks gestation. 

After multiple tests and many visits from the doctors, it has been confirmed that my waters have in fact raptured and that I needed to be transferred to Princess Ann Hospital in Southampton immediately.

The care and support we have received at Southampton was amazing and on the 15th of February 2023, our little boy was born weighing 3.3 pounds, with no delivery complications. 

Only couple days later, once our son Ezekiel was stable enough, we were transferred back to the Basingstoke Neonatal Unit where our baby was to be cared for and looked after for 6 weeks.

As a first time mum, the whole experience has been extremely traumatic as I never thought that I’d have my first baby prematurely and there was a lot to learn about the care he required and treatment needed to get him strong and big enough to be able to go home.

We cannot thank the NICU staff enough, for not only looking after our baby but also supporting us along the way and teaching us how to look after such a small baby and making sure we are involved in all aspects of his care and the fact that we were able to be included in this means the world.

At the very beginning, it was very hard seeing your baby in an incubator but every day we came to visit, the nurses welcomed us with a big smile and encouraged us to try and help things such as tube feeding and nappy changes to allow us to feel as involved as possible.

Seeing Ezekiel’s progress with each week, we started to become more confident and excited to eventually bring him home.

He has now been with us at home for 10 days and we are very keen to be able to do something to help the Neonatal Ward whether it’s to contribute towards medical equipment or supplies needed to look after other premature babies.

All nurses that work in our Basingstoke Neonatal Ward are literal angels, they cared for our baby as if he was their own and their love and dedication doesn’t go unnoticed and we would like to say thank you for everything they have done, not just for Ezekiel but for us too, as new first time parents.

Some days were harder than others, there were many tears but also many happy days where we witnessed our boy progress and we will forever be thankful for all the support we have received whilst in their care.

Any kind donations will be going directly to the Neonatal Ward, it’s now our turn to give back and say thank you for all the amazing hard work they do every day.

Thank you,

Ella & Kaine