My son Finn was born at 26 weeks in April 2014. There was no reason why. He was 2lbs 3oz and went straight into a plastic bag and I didn't see him again for a while until I was seen to.
He was hooked up to every machine possible and we spent every day and night by his bedside for 8 days until 1 night when I had arrived during the night the alarms went off and I was asked to leave.
Finn had meningitis E. coli and it was really bad. I'd got to hold him twice until then and after that he had to stay in his incubator so we went and read him stories and cried... A lot.
Over the 13 weeks he was there he had meningitis, septicaemia and a brain haemorrhage. He'd had so many needles in his tiny arms and legs that his arm turned black and they ran out of veins so the needles were inserted into his head like a little crown and when that stopped working he was transferred to the sick kids for a central line into his chest.
All together he had 4 blood transfusions, 4 platelet transfusions and 17 lumbar punctures. He was 1 hour away from getting a shunt inserted into his head. Finn really is a walking miracle. He's now 5 and absolutely perfect.
The staff in the neonatal looked after me as much as my son and we'll forever be grateful for everything they did for us.
Thanks
Tina