Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

Why Sam’s Walk?

Sam is my friend Roy’s son. He was born 12 weeks early at Hinchingbrooke hospital. The story is one of joy, whilst the journey itself was at times very sad. Roy’s wife Kaeron went into labour at 28 weeks, and things weren’t going to plan. Sam was breech and had a prolapsed cord, this was a real emergency C-section. Sam was born with little signs of life, Dr Nik Johnson and his team at Hinchingbrooke did their thing, they were able to get Sam to a stable enough condition that he could be transferred to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at The Rosie.

 Early signs weren’t good.  They tried to prepare Roy and Kaeron for the worst, that Sam wasn’t going to pull through.  The expression “what a difference a week makes” had never been so true. His condition had changed, Sam spent some time on a ventilator before being changed to other breathing assistance which meant he did most of the breathing for himself.  The team at NICU were amazing, the nursing staff were fully supportive of Sam and the family unit and for 6 weeks they were truly part of the team.

The Doctors and consultants worked tirelessly to keep Sam on the up. A few things came up along the way including the bad news that Sam had suffered a level 4 brain bleed and had sustained some brain damage, he also developed hydrocephalus, meaning he was unable to deal with his Brain fluid effectively.

After 6 weeks they got the good news that Sam was doing well, and could return to the place of his birth. Luckily Hinchingbrooke had room,  Sam was welcomed back as if he was one of their own. Their family Unit was easier to manage, their other son Tom was able to visit his brother more and eventually get his cuddles.  Kaeron could spend her days there between school runs and Roy could get there easily after work for an evening shift and do a feed, relieving his wife and sometimes Tom who had come after school to check on his brother.

In all they had 12 weeks in hospital, 6 in each. They found great support from staff and from other parents for the rare situation they found themselves in.. Then on his due date Sam came home.

They met many people along the way, some very brave parents and babies, unfortunately not all of Sam’s friends made it through and they were to see the pain they had been so fortunate to escape. Sam continues his journey, he has his shunts fitted to control his hydrocephalus, he has brain damage but at this moment in time it’s hard to tell if that means anything, he has a laugh to warm the coldest of hearts and he can do things everybody thought they would never see.

 

It is because of Sam’s journey that I am walking these 23 miles, an opportunity to raise some much needed funds to help the hospitals care for the babies and for the family units. To re-member the baby soldiers, those that soldier on and those lost in the battle for life.