Helping other families through their NICU journey

Myself, George & our family are walking the Yorkshire 3 peaks to fundraise for The Jessop Wing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on the 6th April. We are doing this walk a year after Archie was born prematurely at 33 weeks. Archie was delivered by emergency C-section after I developed Pre-Eclampsia & HELLP syndrome & started to become really unwell. Archie was separated from us & admitted to the intensive care unit. Being separated from Archie at birth and only allowed to visit him was the most painful experience of my life and can’t summarise into words. Watching him alone in the incubator with his eyes covered and nothing except my smell on a blanket was as far from my ‘planned’ birth and newborn bubble I could have imagined . But the care both Archie, myself & George received by the NICU staff was beyond incredible, they did everything possible to help us bond with Archie, they brought me photos to keep at my bedside as I was an inpatient on another ward, they made hand & footprints, gave us bonding hearts to keep close so his smell stayed with us, and mine with him so he didn’t feel alone, they made us a diary where they recorded Archie’s day and night time activities for the times we couldn’t be with him. The hospital provided clothes for Archie because we never bought any so tiny, all these things that seem so small yet made this mountain just a little easier to climb.

After discharge our premature journey didn’t end, we were supported at home by the most incredible community team, a team that supported us and visited us at home for months. Archie’s nurse was my rock, someone I could sit and talk too for hours, I was able to phone for support because I lost all confidence in how to care for a ‘healthy baby’, she dedicated so much time supporting us and we will forever be grateful. We are still attending Jessops now 9 months down the line, still under the NICU team, physiotherapy and so many specialities at the Children’s hospital. Archie has gone through so much in his little 9 months & we are choosing too hike these miles to raise money to thank Jessops for the bringing Archie into this world safely when they did & for supporting us all every step of the way ever since.

All money raised will enable Jessops to keep providing all these comforts to families who have babies in the NICU department to still help them make memories whilst in hospital and allow them to bond with their precious babies ✨