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Our son Joseph was born at the in , at 6pm on November 3, 2009, 6 weeks early and weighing in at 5lbs 11 ounces (2.595 kg). We held Joseph for about 10 minutes as soon as he was born before he was taken to the Special Care Baby Unit. We had been told he would be taken to SCBU as he was premature so thought it was just routine.
Joseph had to have support with his breathing and had tubes in his nose to provide oxygen, he also had anti biotics and a drip in his hands. Over the next 36 hours Joseph's condition deteriorated and he needed to be put on a ventilator and also suffered a pneumothorax (collapsed lung), he was very poorly and we came close to losing him. The team at the Royal Surrey were excellent but Joseph needed intensive care nursing so was transferred to the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit at . The transfer team from arrived and spent 5 hours with Joseph trying to stabilise him before moving him in the ambulance, they were patient, understanding and kept us informed about what was happening, they were clearly experts in their field and helped give us confidence he was in the best hands.
Joseph arrived at in quite a bad way, it was a few hours before he was stable enough for us to see him. The Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit was high tech and Joseph looked very fragile connected to various tubes, drips etc, it was a truly daunting sight for us. However, we clearly saw that all the staff there knew what they were doing, they were experienced, competent and confident. They took the time to explain what they were doing, what the next steps were and how they hoped things would progress. The nurse looking after Joseph stayed on 2 hours after her shift had finished in order to complete paperwork, spend time with us and do a comprehensive handover, we were humbled by the dedication everyone showed in the Unit and continued to be during the days that followed.
After 3 days on the unit, Joseph came off the ventilator and went from strength to strength. The Consultant looking after him, the entire medical and admin/support staff were fantastic, they genuinely cared about our little boy and about us. They gave us encouragement and hope and we couldn’t have got through those difficult days without their support.
4 days later, Joseph was transferred back to the Royal Surrey by the same Transfer team and they took great care of him every step of the way. He grew stronger by the day and on November 13, 2009 we were able to take him home and he continues to get stronger all the time.
The life of our newborn son was totally in the hands of the team at and the SCBU team at the Royal Surrey and they all served him well. We will always be thankful to teams and the work they do, their dedication is second to none and words can not express how grateful we are for all they did for our son.
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