Ethan James Underwood: 07/11/2010 to 08/12/2010.
Our beautiful boy Ethan James Underwood was born on a bright November morning in St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey. He passed away peacefully on a starlit night in December, aged 31 days. If you've got a moment, we'd like to tell you a little about his short but happy life.
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Our 20 week scan was supposed to be a moment of joy - when we finally got to discover whether baby was a boy or girl. Instead, we were given the news that he (thereafter Ethan) had a malformed brain and might not be able to move, feed or even breath. We had to live with this news for several months, not knowing whether he would survive from one day to the next. He did survive the pregnancy (after all, Ethan means 'strong') and even surprised us by arriving one month early.
His caesarean birth was a frightening time for both of us, as we didn't know whether he would be able to breath. Ethan needed a little help for the first day, but was taken off of the ventilator on day two. It was a fabulous moment to see him moving and breathing by himself.
The next day Ethan was whisked across London to St George's Hospital for surgery on his bowel. It was there that we learnt that he would never be able to feed and that his time with us would be short. After one week of recovery he had another ambulance ride, this time back to St Peter's.
At St Peter's the nurses and doctors made every effort to make our little boy's life comfortable while allowing him to spend as much time as possible with mummy and daddy. They taught us how to care for his many needs and allowed us to take him into the parent's accommodation in the daytime (his 'home'), before taking him back into ICU at night (his 'nursery'!). Ethan loved having cuddles, stories and music, and the nurses were more than happy to oblige!
When he eventually became too tired to carry on we held him in our arms and said goodbye, for now at least.
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So, please give generously to help other babies like Ethan.
Love, Anna and Robin.
